Sm-^^V 


THE    SPOKEN    WORD; 

OR,    THE 

AKT    OF    EXTEMPORAEY    PREACHING, 

ITS  UTILITY,  ITS  DANGER,  AND  ITS  TRUE  IDEA. 


WITH    AN    EASY    AND    PRACTICAL    METHOD    FOR    ITS 

ATTAINMENT. 


BV 

REV.  THOMAS  J/POTTER, 

PROFESSOR  OF  SACRED  ELOQUENCE  IN  THE  MISSIONARY  COLLEGE  OF 

ALL-HALLOWS. 

AUTHOR  OF  "  SACKED  ELOQUENCE  ;  OR,  THE  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  PREACHING 
!' THE  PASTOR  AND  HIS  PEOPLE;  OR,  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  AND  THE 
FLOCK  OF  CHRIST,"  ETC.,  ETC 


"  Vivus  est  enim  sermo  Dei,  et  efflcax,  et  penetrabilior  omni  gladio  ancipiti.' 

BOSTON  : 

PATRICK      DONAHOE, 

No.  19,  FEANKLIN-STEEET. 

1872. 


DTJBLIN  : 
7,  GREAT  BRUNSWICK-ST. 


TO 

THE  PJGHT  REVEREND  GEORGE  CONROY,  D.D., 

BISHOP  OF  AEDAGH  AND  CLONMACNOISE  : 
IN  GRATEFUL  APPRECIATION 

OF 

MORE  KINDNESS  THAN  HE  CAN  EVER  HOPE  TO  ACKNOWLEDGE 

IN  WORDS, 

THIS   WORK    IS    INSCRIBED, 

■WITH  EVERY  SENTIMENT  OF  AFFECTIONATE  VENERATION, 

RESPECT,  AND  ESTEEM, 

BV 

HIS  lordship's  DEVOTED  SERVANT  IN  CHRIST, 

THE    AUTHOR. 
JnNF  1st,  1872. 


BARTHOLOMtEUS  CANONICUS  WOODLOCK,  D.D., 

CENSOE.   THEOLOG.  DEP. 


•i^PAULUS    CARDINALIS    CULLEN, 

ARCHIEPISCOPUS  DUBLINIENSIS,  ETC.,  ETC. 

IstJunii,  1872. 


«»^  -If  -try 


PREFACE. 


A  VERY  few  words  will  suffice  for  all  that  I  wish 
to  say  by  way  of  preface  to  the  little  work  which 
is  here  offered,  with  much  resj^ect  and  deference, 
to  the  notice  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Word. 

In  my  treatise  on  "  Sacred  Eloquence  ;  or,  the 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Preaching,"  I  marked  out, 
and  endeavoured  to  render  as  practically  easy  as 
possil)le,  that  more  laborious  method,  of  writing 
their  sermons  and  committinoj  the  same  to  me- 
mory,  which  most  young  clergymen  are  obliged, 
at  least  for  some  time  after  their  entrance  into 
the  ministry,  to  follow. 

But,  as  there  are  very  few  missionary  priests 
who  have  either  the  time  or  the  iuclination  to 
undertake  the  immense  labour  which  such  a  sys- 


viii  .  PKEFACE. 

tern  of  preparation  involves — even  if  we  suppose 
this  style  of  preaching  to  be  the  most  perfect,  or 
the  most  useful,  in  itself — I  conceived  that  I 
might  be  performing  a  work  not  altogether  un- 
acceptable to  them,  if  I  ventured  to  present  to 
the  consideration  of  my  brethren  those  remarks 
on  the  Nature  and  True  Idea,  the  Dangers,  the 
Advantages,  and  the  most  practical  Method  of 
Extemporary  Preaching,  which  it  has  been  my 
duty  to  prepare  for  the  instruction  of  the  young 
ecclesiastics  whom  it  is  my  privilege  to  train  in 
this  interesting  and  important  branch  of  their 
education. 

It  is  for  my  readers  to  decide  what  amount  of 
success  has  attended  my  labours.  For  myself 
I  can  only  say,  that,  discarding,  in  view  of 
the  object  which  was  before  me,  all  attempts 
at  eloquence  of  style,  or  of  laboured  composition, 
I  have  striven  to  the  best  of  my  ability  to  record, 
in  the  most  simple  and  intelligible  manner,  what- 
ever information  I  have  been  able  to  gather,  and 
whatever  experience  it  has  been  my  good  fortune 


PREFACE.  IX 

to  acquire,  during  many  years  of  study  and  con- 
stant teach  ino^. 

I  will  add,  that,  if  my  work  shall  prove  of  any 
service,  no  matter  how  poor  or  slight  that  service 
may  be,  to  my  brethren  and  my  pupils,  I  shall  be 
more  than  amply  repaid  for  whatever  labour  and 
anxiety  its  compilation  may  have  cost  me. 

The  principal  difficulty  with  which  I  had  to 
contend  in  the  composition  of  this  treatise  was 
one  to  which,  perhaps,  I  may  be  allowed  to  refer. 

Up  to  a  certain  point,  the  preparation  for  a 
written  and  an  extemporary  sermon  does  not  sub- 
stantially differ.  In  my  work  on  "  Sacred  Elo- 
quence,"  I  entered  at  considerable  length  into  all 
those  matters  which  are  included  in  the  Prepara- 
tion, Remote  or  Proximate,  the  Actual  Composi- 
tion, and  the  Delivery  from  Memory,  of  a  written 
sermon.  In  the  present  volume  I  have  been 
obliged  to  touch  upon  some,  at  least,  of  the  sub- 
jects  which  I  had  already  treated;  and  the  diffi- 
culty in  my  way  was,  how  to  do  this  without 
returning   over  the  same  ground.     I  trust   my 


X  PREFACE. 

readers  will  find  that,  whilst  I  have  not  hesitated, 
when  it  was  necessary,  to  refer  to  princijDles  which 
I  had  already  established  and  laid  down,  I  have 
not  substantially  repeated  anything  which  I  had 
previously  written. 

It  only  remains  for  me,  I  think,  to  render  my 
acknowledgments  where  they  are  justly  and  prin- 
cipally due. 

I  have  derived  much  useful  assistance  from  a 
treatise,  "  On  the  Art  of  Extempore  Speaking  : 
Hints  for  the  Pulpit,  the  Senate,  and  the  Bar," 
by  the  late  Abbe  Bautain,  Yicar-general  of  Paris 
— a  work  which,  although  perhaps  it  is  too  tho- 
roughly French,  both  in  conception  and  execution, 
to  become  very  popular  amongst  those  who  culti- 
vate a  more  simple  style  of  speaking,  nevertheless 
contains  many  practical  hints  and  much  useful  in- 
formation. I  am  also  under  many  obligations  to 
the  "  Cours  d'Eloquence  Sacree,"  of  the  Abbe 
MuUois,  to  the  "  Precis  de  Khetorique  Sacree,"  of 
the  Canon  Yon  Hemel,  to  the  Eev.  E.  P.  Hood,  to 
an  anonymous  writer  in  the  pages  of  the  Dublin 


PKEFACE. 

Eeview,  and  to  several  other  distinguished  authors 
whose  names  are  mentioned  in  the  work  itself. 
Lastly,  though  not  least  highly  appreciated  and 
esteemed,  my  grateful  acknowledgments  are  due 
to  the  great  Oratorian,  Dr.  Newman,  for  the 
generous  readiness  with  which  on  this,  as  on 
all  former  occasions,  he  has  placed  his  learned 
and  valuable  writings  at  my  disposal. 

T.  J.  P. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
CHAPTER  I. 

Extemporary  Preaching— What  it  is  not— Its  true  idea,     .  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Extemporary  Preaching  is  not  the  expedient  of  the  slothful 
man  ta-gave  himself  trouble — Whether  Extemporary  or 
Written  Discourses  are  the  more  useful  and  effective — 
Certain  qualifications  which  are  indispensable  to  success 

^    in  the  Extemporary  Preacher,         .  .  .  .11 

» 

CHAPTER  III. 

Selection  of  the  subject — Its  great  importance  and  its  influence 
upon  the  success  of  the  sermon — Ordinary  and  extraordi- 
nary efforts — Converting  Sermons — The  common  Sunday 
Discourse  or  Homily,  .  ,  ,  .  ,27 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Conception  of  the  Subject — Every  good  Discourse  will  be 
the  development  of  one  great  Leading  Idea — The  people 
only  remember  one  thing  at  a  time — The  unity  of  thought 
and  conception  which  is  necessary  to  the  speaker  at  all 
times  and  on  all  occasions  is  doubly  so  to  the  Extemporary 
Preacher,  since  he  is  doubly  exposed  to  the  danger  of 
wandering  from  his  sub  ect,  .  .  .  .41 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Page. 


In  order  to  conceive  our  subject  we  must  first  meditate  it 
deeply  and  thoroughly — Want  of  thought  a  great  defi- 
ciency of  modern  sermons — The  Modern  Orator  must  be 
a  man  of  keen  intelligence,  and  possess  the  habit  of  close 
and  earnest  thought,  .  .  .  .  -        47 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Two  principal  methods  of  meditating  a  subject,  the  Direct  and 
the  Indirect — Few  men  are  competent  to  employ  the 
Direct — Nature  of  the  Indirect  Method — We  must  know 
where  to  look  for  matter  and  how  to  read — How  a  man 
may  make  the  thoughts  of  another  his  own,  and  the  only 
way  in  which  it  is  lawful  to  do  so,  ...         55 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Arrangement  of  the  Matter  of  our  discourse — Absolute 
necessity  of  such  order  and  arrangement — Its  true  idea — 
Opinions  of  St.  Francis  Borgia,  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  St. 
Francis  de  Sales,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  etc.,  on  this  sub- 

||€Cu,  .......  OO 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  two  great  methods  of  presenting  a  subject,  by  "plan,"  or 
by  "view" — Obvious  danger  of  the  "formal  plan  ' — 
Method  of  proceeding  by  "view" — Lacordaire — This 
method  is  not  suited  to  men  of  ordinary  talents— Superior 
advantages  of  the  "  plan,"  .  .  ,  ,74 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Plan  of  a  discourse— General  object  of  the  plan  and  its  relation 
to  the  discourse — What  the  educated  laity  say  of  the  elo- 
quence of  the  pulpit,  .  .  .  .  .86 


CONTENTS.  ■  XV 

Page. 
CHAPTER  X. 

The  plan  of  a  discourse  tlie  fruit  of  deep  thought  and  of  much 
reflection— Essential  properties  of  a  good  plan— Its  influ- 
ence on  success,       ......         94 

CHAPTER  XT. 

Proximate  preparation  of  the  sermon — The  preacher  at  work — 
How  to  parcel  out  the  week  in  the  most  useful  and  practi- 
cal manner — Plan  of  a  sermon,       ....       109 

CHAPTER  XTL 

The  preacher  in  the  pulpit— Realization  of  his  plan— How  to 
introduce  his  subject — The  practice  of  employing  a  writ- 
ten exordium  and  other  choice  morsels  of  eloquence  in  an 
extemporary  discourse,        .  .  .  .  .127 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

How  to  seize  the  subject — Diflficulty  of  laying  down  general 
rules— The  advantages  of  a  clear  division  in  enabling  a 
preacher  to  seize  his  subject — The  qualities  of  a  good  divi- 
sion deduced  from  a  consideiation  of  the  office  and  dignity 
of  the  preacher,        ......       144 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

How  to  seize  the  audience — The  power  of  seizing  our  audience 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  perfect  success— In  what  this 
power  consists — The  Christian  orator  must  know  how  to 
teach  and  to  move,  how  to  appeal  to  the  intellect  and  the 
heart — Instruction  and  argumentation,  their  force,  nature, 
and  essential  qualities,         .  .  .  .  ,169 

CHAPTER  XV. 

How  to  present  the  subject  in  a  popular  shape — Amplifica- 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
tion,  real  and  false — Nature  of  true  amplification — The 

essential  part  it  plays  in  the  success  of  the  sacred  orator,         192 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Word-painting — Its  force,  its  employment,  and  its  proper  place 
in  popular  preaching — How  it  may  be  abused — Father 
Paul  Segneri — Rowland  Hill — Dr.  Newman,  etc.,  .       210 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

How  to  conclude — The  danger  of  unduly  prolonging  the  dis- 
course— Various  methods  of  concluding — The  crisis  of  the 
sermon,  how  it  is  to  be  managed,  and  the  immense  im- 
portance of  employing  it  properly — Recapitulation,  its 
nature  and  objects — The  appeal  to  the  passions,  and  how 
it  is  to  be  conducted— Examples:  Massillon,  St.  Liguori, 
Segneri,  Manning,  Newman,  .  .  .  .       236 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Style  of  the  Pulpit — Style  of  the  pulpit  is  essentially  popular — 
Characteristics  of  a  popular  style,  in  the  true  acceptation 
of  the  term,  ......       265 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED, 


S!Iw  ^xi  0I  CBxttmjr0rsivy  f  ititdiing. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EXTEMPORARY    PREACHING! — WHAT    IT    IS    NOT — ITS    TRUE 

IDEA. 

jLTHOUGH  it  is  certainly  rather  a  dangerous 
experiment  for  a  young  priest  fresh  from  col- 
lege to  make,  it  is  equally  certain  that,  sooner  or 
later,  a  large  number,  perhaps  the  majority,  of  cler- 
gymen adopt  what  is  loosely  styled  the  practice  of  ex- 
temporary preaching.  There  are  very  few  men  w^ho 
have  the  courage  to  undergo,  week  by  week,  the  im- 
mense labour  which  is  involved  in  writing  out  a  set 
sermon,  and  in  committing  the  same  to  memory  word 
for  word.  Even  before  their  departure  from  college, 
most  men  probably  had  begun  to  find  how  wearisome 
and  tedious  such  a  process  becomes ;  and,  although  the 

2 


2  EXTEMPOKAPtY  PREACHING. 

vigilance  of  his  professor,  and  his  own  intimate  convic- 
tion of  the  great  utility  and  importance  of  such  a  sys- 
tem of  training,  might  render  the  youug  ecclesiastic 
exact  and  careful  in  writing  his  sermons,  and  in  com- 
mitting at  least  some  of  them  to  memory,  during  the 
years  of  his  college  course,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  expected 
that  he  will  persevere  very  long  in  such  a  mode  of  pre- 
paration after  he  has  once  been  fairly  launched  into 
the  multitudinous  and  distracting  duties  of  the  mis- 
sionary life.  Let  his  courage  be  ever  so  great ;  let  his 
industry  be  surpassed  only  by  his  zeal ;  moreover,  let 
him  be  nervous  even  to  the  last  degree,  and  afraid  of 
attempting  to  utter  a  single  sentence  which  he  has 
not  previously  written  and  committed  to  memory ;  he 
will,  nevertheless,  in  many  instances,  perhaps  as  a  rule, 
find  it  quite  impossible  to  write  his  sermons,  and  com- 
mit them  to  memory  word  for  word — even  if  we  sup- 
pose such  a  style  of  preaching  to  be  the  best  in  itself, 
or  the  one  to  be  most  strenuously  recommended  to 
the  attention  of  the  missionary  priest. 

As  we  have  said,  a  young  preacher  who  starts  by 
throwing  away  his  pen,  ceasing  to  call  upon  his  me- 
mory, and  assuming  all  the  arts,  all  the  expedients, 
and,  shall  we  add,  all  the  importance,  of  the  full-blown 
orator,  makes  a  very  dangerous  experiment.  And,  the 
misfortune  is,  that  the  men  who  thus  commence,  who 


ITS  NATURE  AND  TRUE   IDEA.  3 

tlius  rush  with  reckless  stej)S  into  that  sacred  ground 
where  angels  might  well  fear  to  tread,  are,  as  a  general 
rule,  precisely  the  very  men  whose  course  of  training, 
or  whose  natural  qualifications,  render  them  most  tho- 
roughly unfitted  for  such  an  undertaking.  The  man 
who  has  never  been  trained ;  who  scarcely  knows  the 
difference  between  the  argumentative  and  the  persua- 
sive parts  of  a  discourse ;  whose  natural  defects  of 
manner  and  of  speech  have  received  neither  attention 
nor  correction;  is  just  the  man  to  laugh  at  the  diffi- 
dence and  nervousDess  of  another  who  is  twice  as  well 
educated  and  twice  as  highly  trained  as  himself  The 
latter  is  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  delicate  nature 
of  the  task  before  him ;  he  knows  w^ell  how  difficult  it 
is  to  arrange  one's  matter  nicely ;  to  adapt  it  skilfully 
and  judiciously  to  the  capabilities  and  the  special 
needs  of  our  special  audience ;  to  deliver  it  earnestly 
and  warmly,  without  repulsive  coldness  or  ridiculous 
exaggeration.  He  knows  how  slight  a  distraction  is 
sufficient  to  throw  a  man  off  the  track,  and  to  over- 
whelm, even  the  best  meant  efforts,  with  inextricable 
confusion.  He  has  seen  so  many  men  "  break  down," 
more  or  less  completely;  and  he  has,  in  all  probability, 
listened  to  such  an  amount  of  hostile  criticism  on 
preaching  and  preachers ;  that  he  never  enters  the 
pulpit  but  with  fear  and  trembling,  never  descends 


4  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

from  it  but  with  an  intense  feeling  of  relief  and  thank- 
fulness, increased,  of  course,  a  thousandfold,  if  he  have 
come  off  tolerably  well.  But  the  man  who  is  self-con- 
fident simply  because  he  is  unconscious  of  his  own 
defects,  labours  under  no  such  painful  misgivings. 
He  cannot  understand  how  some  persons  find  it  so 
difficult  to  preach.  "  He  has  no  difficulty  in  the  matter. 
It  is  so  easy  to  talk ;  and,  then,  anything  will  do  for 
the  people.  He  must  be  an  ignoramus  indeed  who 
cannot  fill  up  the  time,  who  cannot  talk  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes."  And  thus  salving  his  conscience,  he 
undertakes,  without  hesitation  or  misgiving,  the  dis- 
charge of  one  of  the  most  sublime,  as  it  is  one  of  the 
most  important,  duties  which  could  be  intrusted  to 
mortal  man.  Of  the  manner  in  which  he  discharges" 
that  duty  it  is  scarcely  necessarj^  to  speak.  Of  this, 
however,  you  may  be  pretty  certain,  that  if  he  cannot 
quite  close  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  great  numbers  of 
his  flock  make  a  practice  of  avoiding  any  service  at 
which  it  may  be  known  that  he  is  to  preach,  while 
those  who  are  present  either  fall  asleep,  or  amuse 
themselves  by  acting  the  critic  on  what  he  says  and 
his  manner  of  saying  it,  he  will  be  the  last  person  to 
see  this,  or  to  realize  the  unpleasantness,  not  to  use  a 
stronger  word,  of  his  position. 

But,  whether  it  be  from  want  of  time  to  devote  to 


ITS   NATURE   AND   TllUE   IDEA.  5 

the  composition  of  written  discourses,  or  from  natural 
disinclination  to  undertake  the  labour  which  such  a 
process  necessarily  demands,  it  is  quite  certain  that 
most  missionary  j^riests  will,  at  some  j^ortion  of  their 
cai'eer,  become  what  is  called  extemporary  preachers. 
And,  when  we  remark  that  by  extemporary  preaching 
most  men  simply  understand  iweacJiing  luithout  2>Tej)a' 
ration,  is  it  necessary  to  add  that,  not  unfrequently, 
the  result  is  one  at  which,  though  mortals  may  only 
smile,  the  angels  may  well  be  supposed  to  weep 

Now,  as  the  greatest  inconveniences  and  the  most 
mischievous  mistakes  arise,  in  many  cases,  from  a  mis- 
conception of  first  principles  and  of  primary  ideas  ;  and 
as,  in  this  essay,  we  propose  not  only  to  explain,  as  far 
as  we  may  be  able,  the  true  nature  of  extemporary 
preaching,  but  strongly  to  recommend  the  same ;  we 
are  especially  anxious  to  commence  by  showing  what 
it  is  not,  or,  rather,  by  dissipating  some  of  the  false  and 
mistaken  ideas  which  have  gone  abroad  on  this  subject. 

If  you  were  to  ask  twenty  men  what  they  under- 
stand by  extemporary  preaching,  there  can,  we  ima- 
gine, be  little  doubt  but  that  a  majority  of  them  would 
answer,  "Preaching  without  preparation,"  and  that 
they  would  mean  what  they  said.  They  might  differ 
slightly  as  to  the  measure  of  their  unprepared ness. 
One  would  tell  you  that  he  finds  it  sufficient  to  walk 


6       ■  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

about  the  sacristy  for  a  few  moments,  thinking  over  the 
subject  of  his  discourse,  before  he  ascends  the  pulpit. 
Another  would  add  that,  for  his  part,  he  is  always 
anxious  to  read  something  bearing  on  his  subject;  but 
it  is  really  so  difficult  to  meet  with  any  author  who 
puts  sermon  matter  briefly  and  clearly,  that  he  has 
almost  been  compelled  to  give  it  up,  and  trust  to  the 
spur  of  the  moment.  Another  may  even  go  so  far  as 
to  say  that,  sometimes,  he  actually  makes  notes  of  his 
discourse  on  the  backs  of  his  old  letters,  or  on  any 
other  stray  pieces  of  paper  which  may  come  to  hand — 
probably  adding,  however,  that  he  finds  these  notes  of 
very  little  service,  if  not  even  positively  embarrassing. 
But,  whilst  differing  as  to  minor  details  of  no  practi- 
cal importance,  they  will  all  agree  in  admitting  the 
great  general  principle,  viz.,  that  an  extemporary  ser- 
mon, as  distinguished  from  a  discourse  carefully  written 
and  committed  to  memory,  is  a  sermon  preached  with- 
out any  previous  preparation,  that  is,  without  any  pre- 
paration worthy  of  the  name,  either  as  regards  collec- 
tion of  matter,  arrangement  of  details,  or  form  of 
words. 

It  is  plain,  however,  that  this  cannot  be  the  true 
idea  of  an  extemporary  discourse.  An  extemporary 
speaker  is  one,  no  doubt,  who  speaks,  at  least  in  a  cer- 
tain sense,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.     That  is  to  say, 


ITS   NATURE  AND  TRUE  IDEA.  7 

he  speaks  without  any  previous  and  formal  arrange- 
ment of  his  words  and  phrases.  Nay,  in  some  cases, 
although  it  can  hardly  be  so  with  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,  he  may  even  speak  without  any  previous  selec- 
tion of  his  subject,  or  any  deliberate  arrangement  of 
his  ideas  on  the  matter  of  his  discourse.  In  this  latter 
supposition  a  man  will  be  an  extemporary  speaker  in. 
the  popular  acceptation  of  the  term ;  and  it  is  quite 
possible  that,  in  some  rare  cases,  a  man  may  be  so 
highly  gifted  by  nature,  or  so  favoured  by  a  fortunate 
combination  of  circumstances,  as  to  command  success. 
But  we  venture  to  think  that  these  cases  will,  in  truth, 
be  very  rare,  just  as  the  success,  which  he  may  secure, 
will  be  obtained  in  spite  of  all  recognised  rules  and 
principles  of  oratory,  rather  than  as  the  result  of  their 
observance. 

For,  to  go  back  to  first  principles,  is  it  not  evident 
that  in  order  to  speak — in  order  to  have  any  right  or 
title  to  attempt  to  speak — a  man  must  have  something 
to  say  ?  Is  it  not  plain  that  his  whole  claim  to  present 
himself  to  his  fellow-men,  to  obtrude  himself  upon 
their  notice,  to  trespass  upon  their  patience,  and  to 
appropriate  to  himself  a  portion  of  their  precious  time, 
rests  upon  this  primary  assumption  ?  Is  it  not  equally 
plain  that  this  something  must  be  already  existing  in 
his  mind  as  well  as  in  his  feelings;  or,  in  other  words> 


8  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

that  it  must  be  prompted,  as  well  by  the  intellect 
which  seeks  to  enlighten  and  instruct,  as  by  the  sym- 
pathies which  throb  for  the  welfare  of  his  fellows  ? 
Must  it  not  be  something  sufficiently  personal  to  his 
audience  to  attract  their  attention,  and  sufficiently  im- 
portant to  command  their  respect  and  esteem  ?  And, 
as  we  only  deliver  ourselves  captive  to  those  who  seek 
to  establish  their  claim  to  our  attention  and  interest, 
just  in  proportion  as  they  succeed  in  persuading  us  of 
their  sincerity,  their  earnestness,  and  the  pains  which 
they  have  taken  to  put  the  matter  in  question  before 
us  plainly,  clearly,  and  with  the  utmost  possible  per- 
spicuity, must  he  not  have  laboured  to  arrange  his 
matter,  the  something  to  be  said,  with  all  possible  sim- 
plicity and  method  ?  The  man  who,  in  all  ordinary 
circumstances,  presumes  to  address  an  important  assem- 
blage of  his  fellow  men  under  any  other  conditions 
than  these,  is  simply  an  impostor  and  a  charlatan. 

Now,  if  these  be  the  very  primary  conditions  of  all 
public  speaking,  and,  a  fortiori,  of  pulpit  oratory,  does 
it  not  follow  that  "extemporary  preaching"  and  "preach- 
ing without  preparation"  are  two  very  different  matters? 

Preaching  without  preparation  is  preaching  in  viola- 
tion of  all  recognised  laws  and  regulations,  and  certainly 
is  not  worthy  of  him  who,  in  the  discharge  of  this  all- 
important  duty,  is  acting  simply  as  the  legate  of  God, 


ITS   NATURE   AND   TRUE    IDEA.  9 

who  speaks  through  his  lips,  and  deigns  to  employ  him 
as  the  instrument  of  winning  souls  to  duty  and  to 
truth.  Pro  Christo  legatione  fungimur  tanquam  Deo 
exhortante  per  nos* 

But  the  extemporary  preacher,  in  the  true  sense  of 
the  word,  is  a  very  different  person  from  this.  Sup- 
posing him  to  speak  with  all  due  legitimate  authority, 
jpositis  ponendis,  he  is  a  man  who  has  something  to 
say ;  something  interesting  as  well  as  important ;  some- 
thing, in  a  word,  which  is  worth  saying.  Not  only 
does  he  assure  himself  that  what  he  has  to  say  is  worth 
the  saying,  but  he  studies  with  equal  care  how  he  may 
say  it  in  the  best  possible  manner ;  i.e.,  with  the  great- 
est order,  simplicity,  and  feeling;  or,  in  other  words, 
with  the  most  complete  success. 

Now,  all  this  supposes  a  very  considerable  degree  of 
intellectual  activity  and  of  mental  labour,  and  is  alto- 
gether a  very  different  thing  from  preaching  without 
preparation.  For  although  it  is  true  that  those  whose 
attainments  or  experience  exempt  them  from  the  labour 
and  obligation  of  committing  their  thoughts  to  paper, 
preach  without  any  previous  arrangement  of  words  and 
phrases,  it  is  equally  true  that  here  the  measure  of 
their  unpreparedness  has  its  limit,  and  that  this  is  pre- 

♦  2  Cor.  V.  20. 


10  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

cisely  the  degree  in  which  they  may  be  said  to  preach 
without  preparation. 

The  art,  therefore,  of  extemporary  preaching  has 
reference  merely  to  the  form  of  words  which  the 
speaker  will  employ.  If  it  can  be  said  to  have  any 
reference  to  the  matter  of  his  discourse,  this  is  only 
true  to  the  extent  that  the  preacher  will  not  commit 
that  matter  to  paper,  but  will  content  himself  with 
such  a  purely  mental  preparation  as  is  comprised  in 
a  careful  and  conscientious  study  of  his  subject,  and  a 
no  less  careful  and  conscientious  arrangement  of  his 
matter  by  means  of  the  plan  of  his  discourse. 

To  sum  up :  Extemporisation,  then,  regards  only  the 
words  and  not  the  matter  of  a  discourse ;  and  an  ex- 
/  temporary  preacher  is  one  who,  having  previously  and 
carefully  studied  and  arranged  the  substance  of  his  ser- 
mon, trusts  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment  to  supply 
him  with  the  spoken  words  in  which  to  give  expression 
to  those  ideas  which  are  the  fruit  of  much  earnest 
study  and  of  much  patient  and  thoughtful  labour. 


'W^% 

1^ 

^^0. 

^^f^>is^^^^vaB;j2 

CHAPTER  II. 

EXTEI\IPORARY  PREACHING  IS  NOT  THE  EXPEDIENT  OF 
THE  SLOTHFUL  MAN  TO  SAVE  HIMSELF  TROUBLE — 
WHETHER  EXTEMPORARY  OR  WRITTEN  DISCOURSES 
ARE  THE  MORE  USEFUL  AND  EFFECTIVE — CERTAIN 
QUALIFICATIONS  WHICH  ARE  INDISPENSABLE  TO  SUC- 
CESS IN   THE  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHER. 


N  the  last  chapter  we  strove  to  give  a  simple 
but  accurate  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  an  ex- 
temporary sermon  in  the  true  meaning  of  the  word. 
This  idea  is  identical  with  that  of  Fenelon,  who  speaks 
of  an  extemporary  preacher  as,  "a  man  who  is  well 
instructed,  and  Avho  has  a  great  facility  of  expressing 
himself;  a  man  who  has  meditated  deeply,  in  all  their 
bearings,  the  principles  of  the  subject  which  he  is  to 
treat;  who  has  conceived  that  subject  in  his  intellect 
and  arranged  his  arguments  in  the  clearest  manner ; 
who  has  prepared  a  certain  number  of  striking  figures 
and  of  touchinsf  sentiments  which  mav  render  it  sensi- 


12  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

ble  and  bring  it  home  to  his  hearers;  who  knows  per- 
fectly all  that  he  ought  to  say,  and  the  precise  place  in 
which  to  say  it,  so  that  nothing  remains  at  the  moment 
of  delivery,  bat  to  find  words  in  which  to  express  him- 
self." 

Now,  if  this  be  the  true  idea  of  extemporary  preach- 
ing, it  is  pretty  evident  that  it  cannot  be  taken  up  as 
the  expedient  of  a  slothful  man  whose  great  object  is 
to  save  himself  labour ;  and  this  will  become  still  plainer 
as  we  proceed  to  consider  the  various  stages  which 
are  involved  in  the  propagation  of  an  extemporary  ser- 
mon. Meanwhile,  it  may  not  be  useless  to  devote  a 
fev/  moments  to  another  question  which  is  quite  cer- 
tain to  be  put,  viz.,  whether  the  delivery  of  extempo- 
rary discourses,  or  of  such  as  have  been  previously 
written  and  committed  more  or  less  entirely  to  memory, 
is  to  be  preferred ;  or,  which  of  the  two  kinds  of  preach- 
ing is  likely  to  be  the  more  useful  and  effective  ? 

If  we  were  to  rely  on  the  authority  of  antiquity,  or 
if  our  verdict  were  to  depend  upon  the  votes  of  the  ma- 
jority, it  is,  we  imagine,  quite  certain  that  this  verdict 
would  be  in  favour  of  extempore  delivery.  But,  is  it 
not  equally  certain  that  so  large  and  general  a  question 
does  not  admit  of  a  general  answer ;  but,  that  it  must 
be  considered  in  connection  with  numberless  circum- 
stances of  time,  of  place,  of  subject,  and  of  person,  all 


SOME   ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  13 

of  wliich  will  have  a  very  material  influence  upon  the 
conclusion  at  which  we  must  eventually  arrive  ? 

It  is,  then,  quite  impossible  to  lay  down  any  general 
rule  which  shall  bind  all  men  alike,  or  which  shall  bind, 
with  laws  of  unyielding  inflexibility,  even  the  same 
men  in  different  and  varying  circumstances.  You  can- 
not say  dogmatically  that  a  man  should  always  carefully 
commit  to  paper  every  w^ord  which  he  intends  to  utter, 
any  more  than  you  can  lay  down  as  a  general  principle 
that  the  only  true  orator  is  the  man  who  speaks  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  and  who  gives  expression,  in  strong 
unpremeditated  language,  to  the  sentiments  wdiich  well 
up  spontaneously  from  his  inmost  soul.  Both  assertions 
are  as  true  in  certain  contingencies  as  they  are,  if  not 
false,  at  least  impossible  and  useless,  in  other  and  differ- 
ent circumstances. 

If  we  were  to  commence  by  asserting  that  every 
clergyman  should  aim  at  becoming  an  extemporary 
preacher,  we  should,  undoubtedly,  lay  down  a  proposi- 
tion to  which  all  men  might,  in  a  general  way,  render 
a  ready  assent.  But  if  we  were  to  advance  a  step  fur- 
ther, and  to  affirm  that  no  other  kind  of  preaching  is 
worthy  of  the  name,  and  that  the  practice  of  delivering 
from  memory  sermons  which  have  been  previously 
written,  should  be  neither  countenanced  nor  allowed, 
should  we  not  say  something  which,  to  use  the  mildest 


14  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

form  of  expression,  would  be  very  foolish  and  imprac- 
ticable ? 

For,  is  it  not  palpably  evident  that  there  are  at  least 
a  certain  number  of  clergymen  who,  in  the  beginning 
of  their  career,  are  so  timid,  so  nervous,  and  possessed 
of  such  little  command  of  language,  as  to  be  unable  to 
give  utterance  to  ten  consecutive  sentences  unless  they 
have  been  previously  carefully  prepared  ?   To  lay  upon 
such  men  the  alternative  of  preaching  extempore  or  not 
at  all,  is  practically  the  same  thing  as  to  tell  them  to 
give  up  the  attempt.    To  force  a  man  of  this  kind  into 
the  pulpit  in  such  a  contingency  is  to  force  him  to  make 
a  fool  of  himself,  and  that  under  circumstances  which, 
whilst  they  necessarily  cover  the  preacher  himself  with 
confusion,  produce   at   the  same  time  another   result 
which  is  even  more  lamentable ;  viz.,  bring   discredit 
upon  the  holy  and  sublime  ministry  of  the  word.   Look 
at   the   victim   in   the   pulpit — we  have  all  seen   the 
siofht  some  time  or   other — and  is  it  not  one  which  is 
painful  to  the  last  degree !      He  commences,  perhaps 
indifferently  well,  but  presently  he  begins  to  hesitate ; 
he  grows  very  red  in  the  face,  or  very  pale,  as  the  case 
may  be ;  then  he  stammers  lamely  on  for  another  sen- 
tence or  two,  hesitates  again,  repeats  what  he  has  just 
said,  and,  finally,  as  likely  as  not,  comes  to  a  dead  stop ! 
But  even  if  he  should  not  break  down  so  thoroughly  as 


SOME   ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  15 

this,  he  is  so  absorbed  by  his  eager  and  painful  hunt  for 
the  faltering  and  feeble  words  in  which  to  express  his  still 
more  feeble  and  faltering  ideas,  that  his  delivery  and 
the  whole  tenor  of  his  discourse  becomes  cold  and  un- 
interesting to  the  last  degree.  This  terrible  strain  and 
preoccupation  of  mind  extinguishes  everything  like 
fervour  and  unction,  and,  whilst  it  renders  his  action 
constrained  and  stiff  and  false,  it  deprives  his  voice  of 
its  natural  inflections  and  force,  so  that  the  discourse 
which  should  have  brought  glory  to  God,  benefit  to  his 
flock,  and  the  consciousness  of  important  duty  credit- 
ably discharged  to  himself,  results  in  as  complete  and 
miserable  a  failure  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  To  how 
many  young  men  do  not  these  remarks  apply  in  all 
their  fulness  ?  Are  there  not  even  some  men,  honest, 
zealous,  and  truly  devoted,  who  never,  through  the 
course  of  a  long  life,  succeed  in  conquering  that  ner- 
vous timidity  which  is  such  a  terrible  foe  to  many  of  those 
whose  duty  obliges  them  to  address  large  bodies  of  their 
fellow-men  ? 

Again,  how  few  men  are  there,  at  all  events  how  few 
young  men,  who,  in  the  commencement  of  their  career, 
possess  such  a  profound,  and  at  the  same  time  expedite 
and  practical,  knowledge  of  the  mysteries  of  our  holy 
Faith,  together  with  such  an  ease  and  facility  of  speak- 
ing in  public,  as  justifies  them  in  commencing  their 


10  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

career  as  extemporary  preachers  ?     Those  who  do  thus 
commence,    without    possessing   the    qualifications   at 
which  we  have  just  glanced,  speak,  as  a  rule,  without 
exactness,  precision,  order,   or  plan.     It  is   well  when 
they  are  preserved  from  saying  many  things  which  are 
wild,  vague,  and  less  true;  some  things,  perhaps,  which 
are  actually  false,  and  this,  even  in  matters  of  doctrine 
and  of  practical  morality.    If  they  have  any  plan  in  their 
discourse,  do  they  not  frequently  lose  sight  of  it  by 
tedious,    vain,  and^  useless  digressions  ?     Do   they  not 
w^eary  their  hearers  by  their  foolish  prolixity,  and  by 
their  laboured  efforts  to  find  expression  ?     Possessing 
neither  depth  of  learning,   solidity  of  matter,  nor  grace 
of  delivery,  is  not  the  very  highest  degree  of  excellence 
which  such  men  ever  attain  that  of  becoming  mere 
talkers,  an  accomplishment  from  which  every  sensible 
man  will  earnestly  pray  to  be  preserved  ?     And,  would 
he   not  be  guilty  of  a  rash,  not  to   say  a  guilty  act, 
who  should  attempt  to  persuade  men  such  as  these, 
men  destitute  of  many,  if  not  of  most,  of  the  necessary 
qualifications  for  the  task,  to  commence  their  career 
in  the  pulpit  as  extemporary  preachers  ?     Would  not 
this   be    the   most   effectual  way  of  producing  those 
unfortunate   objects    who    have  been,    not   unhappily, 
described  as  spin-texts  rather  than  "preachers  ?     And 
how  well  this  style  of  preaching  is  hit  off  in  the  person 


SOME   ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  17 

of  the  hapless  individual  of  whom  such  a  capital  story 
is  told  !     This  good  man,  by  dint  of  much  assurance 
and  not  a  little  practice,  had  become  what  he  himself 
considered   an   extemporary   preacher,    but   what   his 
hearers  more  truthfully  designated   as  an  inveterate 
talker.     At  all  events,  he  had  acquired  the  fatal  gift  of 
an  unlimited  power  of  "  talk."    Like  many  mere  talkers, 
however,  it  seems  that,  no  matter  the  subject  on  which 
he  might  commence,  he  always  came  back  to  the  same 
point;  and  in  his  case,  this  point  was  a  dissertation  on 
the  duty  of  paying  one's  debts.       His  hearers  having 
listened  to  this  homily  until  they  were  sick  to  death 
of  it,  finally  appealed  to  the  preacher's  ecclesiastical 
superior  to  give  him  some  text  from  which  he  could  not 
branch  off  into  the  old   familiar   topic.      The  rector 
accordingly  selected  the  "Conversion  of  St.  Paul"  as 
the  subject  for  next  Sunday's  discourse,  and  charged 
his  subordinate  to  confine  himself  to  it,  thinkino^  that 
it  could  not  possibly  be  made  to  lead  up  to  the  curate's 
favourite   grievance.      But  all  in  vain.      The   curate 
naturally  enough  commenced  his  discourse  by  enume- 
rating the  principal  marks  or  signs  of  a  regenerate 
man,  and,  to  the  horror  of  the  congregation,  he  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  prove  that  the  foremost  and  most 
obvious  of  these  consisted  in  the  payment  of  outstand- 
ing accounts.     So  true  it  is  that  sameness  is  one  of  the 

3 


18  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHIXG. 

greatest  dangers,  as  it  is  one   of  the  most  common 
failings,  of  extemporary  preachers. 

Then,  again,  in  deciding  whether  extemporary  or 
written  sermons  be  the  better,  we  must  keep  in  view 
not  only  the  person  of  the  preacher,  but  the  nature  of 
his  subject,  the  audience  to  whom  it  is  to  be  addressed, 
and  the  place  in  which  it  is  to  be  delivered. 

Whilst  we  might  be  justified  in  recommending  a  man 
who  has  to  deliver  a  simple  exhortation,  in  a  small 
country  church,  before  an  unlettered  and  ordinary 
congregation,  to  preach  extempore,  should  we  be  acting 
a  prudent  or  even  warrantable  part,  in  giving  the  same 
advice  to  one  whose  duty  it  might  be  to  deliver  a  formal 
discourse  before  the  members  of  a  university,  or  within 
the  walls  of  a  vast  building?  Undoubtedly  not.  In  a 
small  country  church  you  need  not  raise  your  voice 
above  the  ordinary  conversational  pitch,  whilst  your 
discourse  will  probably  be  of  the  simplest  character  both 
as  regards  its  subject  and  method  of  treatment;  and 
in  this  case  all  the  necessary  conditions  in  favour  of 
an  extempore  sermon  are  present.  Your  subject  and 
your  audience  will  equally  admit  and  require  the  fami- 
liar and  discursive  style  which  suits  most  naturally  the 
extempore  discourse.  But,  let  it  be  a  man's  duty  to 
preach  on  some  formal  subject  before  a  learned  and 
critical,  audience    let  us  suppose  the  members   of  a 


SOME    ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  19 

university,  where  everything  will  depend  on  the  argu- 
mentative nature  of  his  style,  the  exactness  and  pre- 
cision of  his  language,  and  the  unbroken  regularity  and 
completeness  of  the  entire  discourse:  or,  let  us  suppose 
him  speaking  in  a  large  and  spacious  church,  where, 
simply  in  order  to  be  heard,  he  must  articulate  every 
syllable  with  the  most  rigid  distinctness,  iand  know 
precisely  the  very  word  which  he  is  about  to  use,  so 
as  to  give  that  swell  to  the  sound  of  his  sen- 
tences which,  in  such  a  position,  is  absolutely  indis- 
pensable :  and  how  few  men  are  there  who,  in  these 
circumstances,  could  acquit  themselves  either  creditably 
or  successfully  by  means  of  an  extemporary  discourse  ? 

From  all  this,  is  it  not  plain  that  there  are  men  to 
whom,  on  account  of  inexperience,  imperfect  and  inex- 
pedite  knowledge  of  doctrine,  or  the  circumstances  of 
time  and  place  in  which  they  may  find  themselves, 
not  only  j^ou  cannot  recommend  extemporary  preach- 
ing as  the  better  of  the  two,  but  to  whom  you  can- 
not recommend  it  at  all  or  in  any  sense  ?  Men  in 
these  circumstances  must  be  content  to  follow  the  more 
laborious  path  which  we  have  endeavoured  to  mark  out, 
and  render  as  practically  easy  as  possible,  in  a  treatise 
on  "Sacred  Eloquence"  which  may  perhaps  be  known 
to  some  of  our  readers. 

On  the  other  hand,  supposing  a  man  to  possess  the 


20  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

necessary  qualifications,*  there  can  be  no  question  but 
that  extemporary  preaching  has  its  own  most  signal 
and  decided  advantages  over  any  other  method,  and 
that  its  cultivation  is  eminently  worthy  of  every  minis- 

*  By  necessary  qualifications  we  understand  that  perfect 
self-possession,  that  accurate  and  expedite  knowledge,  and 
that  readiness  of  speech  which  is  the  fruit  of  much  practice 
in  writing  more  than  anything  else,  which  fit  a  man  to  speak 
in  public  without  the  previous  labour  of  having  written  his 
discourse  and  committed  it  to  memory.  As  a  particle  of  prac- 
tice is  often  more  useful  than  a  page  of  precept  in  such  mat- 
ters as  this,  it  may  not  be  out  of  the  way  to  refer  to  the  train- 
ing through  which  I  put  the  students  of  our  college  who  are 
under  my  care  in  this  branch  of  their  education.  It  is  briefly 
this  :  after  having,  during  a  space  of  two  years,  applied  them- 
selves to  the  study  of  the  principles  of  composition  and 
elocution,  and  gone  through  a  course  of  English  literature, 
the  whole  accompanied  by  continual  practice  in  writing,  my 
pupils  enter  upon  the  study  of  "  sacred  eloquence,"  properly 
so  called.  This  continues  for  three  years.  During  the 
whole  of  this  time,  in  addition  to  the  formal  lectures  which 
he  receives  on  the  principles  of  sacred  eloquence,  each  stu- 
dent is  obliged  to  write,  once  in  three  weeks,  a  short  sermon. 
The  subject  of  this  sermon  is  appointed  by  the  professor, 
and  it  must  be  written  carefully  and  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  eloquence.  A  certain  number  of  these  sermons  (as 
far  as  time  permits)  are  read  in  public  by  their  authors,  and 
have  to  undergo  the  criticism  of  the  professor.  They  are 
all,  without  exception,  collected  by  him,  to  be  examined  at 


SOME   ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  21 

ter  of  the  gospel,  pre-eminently  worthy  of  those  hard- 
worked  missionary  priests  who  may  be  so  truly  said  to 
bear  the  heat  and  burthen  of  the  day — men  who,  econo- 
mise it  as  they  may,  will  be  able  to  find  but  little  time 

his  leisure,  and  are  returned  to  his  pupils  with  such  remarks 
appended  as  he  may  think  it  useful  or  necessary  to  make. 
It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  this  supposes  a  very  formid- 
able amount  of  writing  on  the  part  of  my  pupils.  I  do  not, 
of  course,  expect  that  these  sermons  will  be  of  much  practical 
utility  to  the  young  missionary  in  his  after  career;  although 
positive  matter,  carefully  collected  and  arranged,  can  never  be 
useless.  Sermons  written  in  college  will,  from  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  nearly  always  want  that  element  of 
practical  application  which  can  alone  render  a  discourse 
living  and  efficacious.  But  what  I  do  expect  is,  that  this 
constant  practice  of  writing  will  give  them  so  great  a  faci- 
lity, not  only  in  the  use  of  language,  but  in  the  orderly  ar- 
rangement of  matter  and  ideas,  that  they  will  be  able,  very 
early  in  their  missionary  career,  to  take  up  the  practice  of 
extemporary  preaching,  and  to  discharge  it  in  such  a  manner 
as  will  be  satisfactory  to  their  superiors,  creditable  to  them- 
selves, useful  to  their  people,  and  worthy,  at  least  in  some 
humble  measure  and  degree,  of  the  God  whose  ministers 
they  are.  And  I  may  add  that,  as  a  general  rule,  I  have 
every  reason  to  be  satisfied,  not  only  with  the  diligent  appli- 
cation of  my  pupils  to  this  branch  of  their  studies,  but  also 
with  the  measure  of  success  which  rewards  their  zealous 
eflforts.—T.  J.  P. 


22  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

to  devote  to  their  preparation  for  the  discharge  of  a 
duty  which  every  true  priest  feels  to  be  one  of  the  most 
onerous  and  important  of  those  which  God  has  placed 
upon  him. 

Without  delaying  to  treat  of  the  first  and  most  ob- 
vious advantage  of  extemporary  preaching,  viz.,  eco- 
nomy of  labour  and  of  time,  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
asserting  that,  positis  ponendis,  the  extemporary 
sermon,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  will  be  more  suc- 
cessful than  one  which  has  been  previously  written  out 
and  committed  to  memory.  Whilst  it  is  true  that 
some  men,  artists  by  nature,  and  perfected  by  long  prac- 
tice, attain  such  an  ease  and  naturalness  of  manner  in 
delivering  sermons  of  this  kind,  as  almost  to  persuade 
you  that  they  are  speaking  extempore,  it  is  equally  true 
that,  as  a  general  rule  which  suffers  but  rare  exceptions, 
the  delivery  from  memory  of  a  written  sermon  is  nearly 
always  stiff  and  formal.  A  preacher  who  follows  this 
method  nearly  always  presents  the  appearance  of  a 
schoolboy  repeating  his  task,  and,  in  many  instances, 
repeating  it  very  indifferently.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
extemporary  sermon  is  delivered  Avith  an  earnestness 
which  proves  that  we  speak  the  language  of  conviction, 
and  with  a  warmth  which  goes  at  once  straight  to  the 
hearts  of  our  hearers.  And,  not  only  is  such  a  sermon 
delivered  with  earnestness  and  warmth,  but  also  with 


SOME  ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  23 

that  easy  and  natural  manner  which,  perhaps  more 
than  anything  else,  gains  the  confidence  of  our  hearers, 
and,  diverting  their  attention  from  the  mere  form  of 
our  matter,  turns  it  full  upon  the  substance  of  the  dis- 
course, thus  disposing  them  to  profit  to  the  utmost  by 
our  instruction.  The  preacher  from  memory  lies  under 
the  necessity,  and  a  very  painful  one  it  is,  of  keeping  a 
constant  and  strained  watch  upon  the  mere  words  of  his 
discourse,  lest  he  forget  them,  and,  with  them,  the  whole 
thread  of  his  argument.  The  extemporary  preacher, 
released  from  this  painful  necessity,  becomes  at  once 
more  free  and  vigorous  in  his  action,  able  at  the  same 
time  to  give  the  rein  to  his  zeal  and  yet  to  keep  it 
within  due  limits.  The  words  of  the  preacher  from 
memory,  no  matter  how  eloquent  or  beautiful  they  may 
be  in  themselves,  are,  in  a  great  measure,  dead  words, 
since  they  are  void  of  that  life  which  is  born  of 
the  ever  varying  circumstances  of  time,  of  place,  and  of 
person.  The  words  of  the  extemporary  preacher,  spring- 
ing as  they  do  immediately  and  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment  from  his  heart,  are  full  of  life  and  pregnant 
with  energy  of  the  best  and  holiest  kind ;  and  it  is  no 
wonder  if  such  a  man  is  able  .to  impart  a  warmth,  an 
earnestness,  a  reality,  and  a  depth  to  his  figures  and 
sentiments  which  they  could  have  acquired  from  no 
amount  of  mere  technical  study  or  closet  preparation. 


24  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

Lastly,  and  this  is  undoubtedly  the  most  formidable 
objection  which  can  be  advanced  against  the  practice 
of  preaching  from  memory,  the  man  who  simply  recites 
verbatim  a  sermon  which  he  has  previously  written,  is 
such  an  utter  slave  to  the  words  of  his  discourse  as  to 
be  altogether  unable  to  follow  those  inspirations  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  may  impart  to  him  during  the  course 
of  its  delivery.  No  matter  how  much  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  finds  himself  may  differ  from  his  expecta- 
tion ;  no  matter  how  ill-adapted  to  the  capacity  of 
his  audience  the  sermon  which  he  has  composed  may 
be ;  he  is  tied  down  to  the  words  which  he  has  written, 
although  he  feels,  and  feels  most  intensely,  as  he  delivers 
them,  that  they  are  utterly  lost  and  thrown  away. 
As  St.  Liguori  says  so  well :  "  These  kind  of  preachers 
carry  their  discourses  in  their  memory,  and  whether 
they  speak  to  the  ignorant  or  the  learned,  they  will  not 
change  a  single  word.  They  perceive  that  their  audience 
do  not  comprehend  them.  No  matter,  they  can  give 
no  new  development,  no  further  explanation.  They 
can  clear  up  no  point  or  present  it  under  different  and 
more  intelligible  aspects.  They  must  confine  them- 
selves to  repeating  the  lessons  which  they  have  learned." 
On  the  other  hand,  the  extemporary  preacher,  and  in 
this  lies  his  real  strength,  is  at  full  liberty  to  proportion 
his  discourse  to  the  effect  which  he  wishes  to  produce. 


SOME   ESSENTIAL   CONDITIONS.  25 

He  sees  that  he  has  made  an  impression :  he  is  at 
liberty  to  follow  it  up,  and  keep  pace  with  it,  by  insist- 
ing upon  and  developing  still  more  forcibly  those  points 
which  he  perceives  to  have  hit  the  mark.  Or,  it  may  be, 
he  sees  that  his  remarks  fall  coldly,  and  without  fruit, 
on  his  hearers  :  he  is  at  liberty  to  present  his  arguments 
under  other  shapes,  to  illustrate  them  by  more  homely 
and  striking  figures,  and  to  dress  his  ideas  in  words 
better  suited  to  the  capacity,  the  understanding,  and 
the  necessities  of  his  audience.     Passing  quietly  over 
those  which  have  missed  their  aim,  he  can  return  again 
and  again  to  those  arguments  which  have  struck  home, 
and  thus  secure  his  end.    As  the  author  of"  The  Parish 
Priest "  remarks,  such  a  man  can  watch  the   effect  of 
his  words  upon  his  audience,  can  constantly  contract 
or  expand  his  arguments,  and  vary  his  illustrations, 
according  to  the  pulse  of  that  audience  and  the  effect 
which  he  sees  to  be  produced.     And  it  is  precisely  in 
this  capacity  of  expansion  and   of  repetition  that  the 
real   force  of  extemporary  preaching  is  to  be  found. 
A  discourse  may  thus  lose   something  in  the  way  of 
compactness  and  strength,  but  what  it  thus  loses  will 
be  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  actual  gain  in 
the  way  of  practical  and  tangible  results.     Besides,  as 
old  Fuller  so  quaintly  reminds  us,  the  ordinary  run  of 
men  are  not  able  to  take  their  intellectual  food  in  too 


26  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

solid  a  form,  but  require  to  have  it  seasoned  by  matter 
of  a  lisfhter  and  more  attractive  kind. 

Finally,  we  cannot,  perhaps,  better  conclude  these 
remarks  on  the  relative  advantages  and  disadvantages 
of  the  two  systems  of  preaching,  than  by  reminding  our 
readers  of  the  well-known  saying  that  "  Writing  makes 
an  exact  man,  conversation  a  ready  man,  and  reading 
a  full  man." 


, "    ■'    "    It    11    n    n    If    II    II    II    r 


■"    ■'     »»     ■ "    «»     »'    «»    ■■     "    rr 


CHAPTER  III. 

SELECTION  OF  THE  SUBJECT — ITS  GREAT  IMPORTANCE 
AND  ITS  INFLUENCE  UPON  THE  SUCCESS  OF  THE 
SERMON — ORDINARY  AND  EXTRAORDINARY  EFFORTS 
— CONVERTING  SERMONS — THE  COMMON  SUNDAY 
DISCOURSE   OR   HOMILY. 


AVING  considered  some  of  the  most  striking 
advantasfes  and  disadvantaf]^es  of  the  extern- 
porary  sermon,  and  having  glanced  at  the  leading 
qualifications  which  are  indispensable  to  him  who 
attempts  it,  it  is  now  time  to  set  the  young  preacher 
practically  td  work  at  the  preparation  of  a  discourse  of 
this  nature  ;  and  the  first  step  in  such  preparation  is 
obviously  the  selection  of  a  subject. 

The  selection  of  a  subject  on  which  to  speak,  simple 
and  matter  of  fact  as  it  seems,  is  a  much  more  impor- 
tant step  than  may  at  first  sight  appear.  It  is  one 
which,  probably,  is  taken  more  as  a  matter  of  course 
than  any  other.     As  an  ordinary  rule,  admitting,  per- 


28  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

haps,  but  few  exceptions,  a  clergyman  glances  at  the 
gospel  of  the  following  Sunday,  and  the  work  is  done — 
he  has  selected  the  subject  of  his  discourse.  At  the 
same  time,  we  do  not  mean  to  say  that  in  reality  the 
ordinary  Sunday's  discourse  will  not,  and  should  not,  be 
built  upon  the  Gospel  of  the  day.  Bat  what  we  ven- 
ture to  say  is,  that  this  rule  may  be  taken  too  gene- 
rally, just  as  it  may  be  applied  too  loosely  and  with- 
out sufficient  regard  to  the  exigencies  of  sacred  elo- 
quence. 

There  can,  of  course,  be  no  doubt  that,  as  it  will  pro- 
bably be  the  duty  of  the  missionary  priest  to  instruct 
his  people  at  least  every  Sunday,  so  he  will  found  his 
instruction,  for  the  most  part,  upon  the  lessons  to  be 
derived  from  either  the  gospel  or  epistle  of  the  day. 
But  it  is  equally  true  that  there  are  many  occasions  on 
which  he  must  be  prepared  to  leave  this  beaten  track, 
to  aim  at  more  striking  results,  at  greater  efforts  for 
God  and  the  good  of  souls,  than  are  ordinarily  at- 
tained by  a  simple  instruction,  just  as  it  is  also  true 
that  he  can  never  afford,  even  in  his  mosb  familiar  in- 
structions, altogether  to  lose  sight  of  those  striking 
results. 

Since,  then,  the  subject  is  the  foundation,  not  only  of 
the  discourse  itself,  but  also  of  all  our  efforts,  and  of  all 
those  strokes   of  oratory  by  which  we  aspire  to  do  a 


SELECTION   OF  A  SUBJECT.  29 

least  something  for  God  and  the  souls  of  men,  it  neces- 
sarily follows  that  not  merely  the  selection  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  also  of  the  line  of  treatment  which  we  propose 
to  follow  in  its  development,  is  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance and  one  which  cannot  be  determined  at  ran- 
dom. This  is  evident  from  the  very  nature  of  elo- 
quence, from  the  very  fundamental  idea  of  the  office 
of  a  preacher ;  since  sacred  eloquence  is  nothing  more 
than  the  power  of  so  influencing  and  acting  upon  our 
fellow-men  as  to  persuade  them  to  become  better  Chris- 
tians and  more  faithful  servants  of  God.  And  it  is 
plain  that  such  an  end  as  this  cannot  be  attained  unless 
by  the  concurrence  of  several  very  important  and  clearly 
defined  elements  of  success. 

We  shall  not  act  upon  our  fellow-men  unless  we 
know  them  well;  and,  in  reality,  how  little  in  most 
cases  do  we  know  about  them  ?  The  Abbe  Mullois 
has  said,  the  people  are  not  known  even  by  the 
most  keen-sighted  statesmen.  We  study  them  super- 
ficially, in  books,  in  romances,  in  newspapers,  or,  as 
likely  as  not,  we  form  some  ludicrous  and  distorted  idea 
which  is  as  far  as  possible  from  the  truth.  Perhaps 
we  scarcely  mix  with  them  at  all,  and  are  as  ignorant  of 
their  virtues  as  we  are  of  their  vices.  We  know  nothins: 
of  their  peculiar  circumstances,  of  their  wants,  their 
dispositions,  their  capacity,  their  prejudices  ;  and  yet  a 


so  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

knowledge  of  all  these  things  is  absolutely  necessary  in. 
order  to  be  able  to  speak  with  effect. 

We  read  that  the  first  public  sermon  delivered  in 
Paris  by  Lacordaire  was  a  complete  failure.  As  they 
went  out  of  the  church  the  audience  passed  judgment 
upon  him  in  no  hesitating  or  equivocal  terms.  Lacor- 
daire himself  was  perfectly  conscious  of  liis  failure,  but, 
like  a  man  of  genius,  he  was  able  to  penetrate  its 
causes,  and,  thoroughly  as  he  seemed,  whilst  labouring 
under  the  smart  of  this  first  disappointment,  to  despair 
of  any  future  success,  he  was,  fortunately  for  posterity, 
equally  able  to  apply  the  necessary  remedies.  He  had 
written  his  sermon  carefully  and  elaborately  in  his 
study,  but  without  any  practical  or  present  thought  of 
his  audience.  As  a  natural  consequence,  it  fell  flatly 
upon  his  hearers ;  it  did  not  deeply  interest  them,  be- 
cause it  really  had  no  practical  relation  to  them  ;  what 
the  preacher  said  was  no  doubt  very  well  said,  but  it 
would  have  suited  some  other  audience  equally  well. 
Probably  it  would  not  really  have  suited  any  audience, 
and  for  the  plain  simple  reason  that  it  had  been  com- 
posed without  practical  reference  to  one  audience  more 
than  another.  Lacordaire  was  quick  to  perceive  this. 
"  I  have  not  sufl&cienc  flexibility  of  mind,"  he  said ; 
"  I  do  not  understand  the  world.  I  have  lived  too 
solitary  a  life.    It  is  not  the  first  time  I  have  discovered 


SELECTION   OF  A   SUBJECT.  31 

how  little  my  mind  sympathizes  with  an  ordinary  con- 
gregation." Thus  probing  his  own  weakness  and  the 
defects  in  his  oratorical  armour,  he  set  himself  assiduously 
to  work  to  apply  the  remedies.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
add  that  thorough  and  brilliant  success  rewarded  his 
efforts. 

If  we  do  not  know  the  people  we  cannot  love  them, 
and  yet,  unless  we  love  them,  we  shall  never  speak  to 
them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  any  lasting  im- 
pression upon  them.     Neither   shall  we  speak  to  them 
in  the  language  of  the  soul,  in  language  which  will 
move  their  hearts,  if  w^e  speak  on  subjects  which  are 
above  their  comprehension,  or  which  are  unsuited  to 
them  in  their  peculiar  circumstances.     What  result  can 
a  clergyman  expect  who  preaches  to  a  simple  country 
congregation  in  the  style,  perhaps  in  the  very  words,  of 
a  Massillon  denouncing  the  corruptions  of  a  profligate 
French  court  ?     Equally  barren  of  result  will  be  our 
efforts   if   we   select  a   subject   which   is   unfitted   to 
our  own  proper  style,  or  if  we  treat  that  subject  in  a 

• 

forced  and  unnatural  manner.  We  may  safely  take  it 
for  granted  that  every  man  has  a  style  of  his  own,  one 
which,  in  some  sense,  is  peculiar  to  himself.  Many  men 
have  a  peculiar  power  of  moving  souls  through  the  con- 
sideration of  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God.  Others, 
though  perhaps  their  number  will  be  small, i^roduce  great 


32  EXTEMPOllARY  PREACHING. 

effect  by  the  terrible  pictures  which  they  are  able  to 
draw  of  the  punishments  of  hell,  etc.,  etc.  But  this  may 
be  laid  down  as  a  general  and  most  certain  law,  that 
the  effect  produced,  no  matter  what  the  subject  or  the 
peculiar  talent  of  the  preacher  may  be,  will  be  just  in 
proportion  to  the  correctness  and  skill  with  which  each 
man  apprehends  his  own  proper  gift,  and  the  exactness 
and  industry  with  which  he  develops  his  own  proper 
talent. 

Whether,  therefore,  he  is  to  deliver  an  ordinary  sim- 
ple instruction  founded  upon  the  Gospel  of  the  day,  or, 
whether  he  aims  at  one  of  those  exceptional  efforts 
which  are  not  merely  useful  bat  often  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  welfare  of  his  flock,  the  preacher  will, 
in  selecting  his  subject  and  his  method  of  treating  it, 
be  equally  careful  to  keep  a  few  broad  general  principles 
plainly  and  clearly  before  his  mind. 

And,  in  the  first  place,  as  regards  those  extraordinary 
efforts  which  must  necessarily^  be  made,  at  least  from 
time  to  time,  as  during  the  seasons  of  Advent,  Lent,  or 
on  the  occasion  of  parochial  retreats,  etc.,  etc.  ;  the 
preacher  must  carefully  remember  that  the  object  of  all 
such  discourses  as  these  is  to  convert.  Let  him  per- 
suade himself  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  choice,  but 
simply  a  matter  of  duty,  to  seize  these  occasions  and 
turn   them  to  proper  account.     No  matter  how  well 


SELECTION   OF  A  SUBJECT.  S3 

may  flow  along,  his  people  will,  by  little  and  little,  be 
overcome  by  the  universal  tendency  to  decay  and  back- 
sliding which  is,  alas,  the  sad  inheritance   of  fallen 
nature.    Nor  will  the  pastor  sufficiently  provide  against 
this  universal  tendency  to  corruption  by  obtaining  for 
his  flock  the  extraordinary  grace  and  help  of  a  "  mis- 
sion "  once  in  every  four  or  five  years.     No  !     Great  as 
may  be  the  results  of  a  successful  mission,  they  will 
quickly  fade  away  and  be  lost  unless  they  be  supple- 
mented and  renewed  from  time  to  time,  tempore  oppor- 
tuno,   by   the    zealous    efforts  of    the  pastor  himself. 
Hence,  the  obligation,  as  opportunity  offers,  of  forsaking 
the  beaten  track  of  the  ordinary  Sunday  instruction,  to 
preach  converting  sermons — sermons  which  will  appeal 
vividly  to  the  conscience,  move  the  heart,  and  lead  to 
practical  and  earnest  reformation  of  manners,  or,  at 
least,  to  a  renewal  of  first  fervour.    Is  it  not  plain  that, 
if  we  are  to  preach  sermons  of  this  kind,  the  selection 
of  our  subject  will  have  much  to  do  with  our  success? 
If  we  are  to  preach  converting  sermons  we  must  choose 
converting  subjects,  and  more  than  that,  such  convert- 
ing subjects  as  we  can  handle  most  powerfully  and 
efficaciously.     It  is  needless  to  add  that  subjects  for 
an  extraordinary  effort  of  this  kind  are  to  be  sought 
for  in  "  The  Four  Last  Things,"  "  The  End  of  Man," 
''  The  Evil  of  Sin  and  its  Eternal  Punishments,"  "The 

4 


.84  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

Attributes  of  God,"  "  The  Redeemer,  His  office  and  His 
Attributes,"  "The  Sacrament  of  Penance,  its  nature, 
the  qualities  of  contrition  and  of  confession,  and  the 
preparation  which  it^  demands,"  "  The  Holy  Commu- 
nion," etc.  These  great  subjects,  or,  at  least,  such  of 
them  as  the  Pastor  may  select,  must  be  brought  be- 
fore his  people  with  all  the  warmth  and  earnestness 
which  are  inspired  by  conviction,  by  zeal,  and  by  ten- 
der love  for  his  flock.  These  subjects,  which  suit  all 
people,  which  are  never  out  of  place,  which  never  grow 
old  or  lose  their  tremendous  importance,  only  require 
to  be  treated  in  a  becoming  manner  to  produce  their 
effect.  But,  to  produce  their  effect,  they  must  be 
treated  in  this  becoming  manner,  and  this  will  not 
be  the  case  if  the  preacher  either  mistake  his  sub- 
ject, or  his  own  power  of  dealing  with  it.  If,  possess- 
ing none  of  the  necessary  qualifications  for  handling 
such  a  subject,  he  attempt  to  preach  on  the  terrors  of 
God's  judgments,  he  may  indeed  rave  at  the  top  of  his 
voice ;  he  may  tear  a  passion  into  tatters ;  but  he  will 
fail  in  his  object;  he  will  not  convert  his  peojDle.  This 
is,  however,  somewhat  of  an  extreme  case ;  for,  after  all, 
a  Christian  priest,  thoroughly  in  earnest  and  devoted  to 
his  calling,  can  scarcely  treat  such  a  subject  without 
producing,  if  not  all,  at  least  much  of  the  desired  result. 
But  we  bring  it  forward  as  a  ^Droof  of  the  great  neces- 


SELECTION   OF  A  SUBJECT.  35 

sity  of  a  tliorougli  and  j)recise  ajDprehension  of  our  own 
peculiar  talent  in  order  to  insure  perfect  success ;  since, 
it  is  only  in  such  circumstances  that  we  shall  fully 
realise  our  aim. 

Then,  again,  how  many  men,  earnest,  zealous  men, 
fail  to  produce  the  desired  effect,  because  they  propose 
the  practice  of  virtue  to  their  hearers  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  inspire  them  with  disgust  for  it !     Such  preachers 
dwell  altogether  on  the  rough  hard  side  of  virtue ;  they 
dilate  upon,  perhaps  exaggerate,  its  difficulties ;  they 
smoothe  away  no  obstacles  ;  they  soften  no  hardships ; 
they  say  nothing  of  the  beauty,  the  grandeur,  and  the 
infinite  reasonableness  of  virtue  in  itself;  nothing  of 
the  abundant  helps  of  divine  grace,  or  of  the  sweetness 
of  the  yoke  of  Christ ;  and,  hence,  they  fail  in  moving 
their  hearers  efficaciously  to  its  practice  simply  because 
they  do  not  proj)ose  it  in  a  becoming  manner.     And,  in 
all  these  circumstances,  they  fail,  not  through  "want  of 
zeal,  or  good  will,  or  sufficient  knowledge,  so  much  as 
from  a  lack  of  that  keen  intelligence,  and  of  that  tho- 
rough good  common  sense,  which  must  ever  have  a 
leading  share  in  forming  an  orator;  since  it  is  these 
qualities  wdiich  must,  above  all  others,  teach  a  man 
what  he  is  best  fitted  for,  the  peculiar  turn  of  his  own 
genius,  the  passions  by  which  his  OAvn  heart  is  most 
deeply  moved,  and,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  the 


36  EXTEMPORAET  PREACHING. 

most  powerfal  qualifications  "whicli  lie  possesses  by  which 
to  act  upon,  and  to  move,  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his 
fellow-men. 

For  these,  and  other  kindred  reasons,  we  venture  to 
think  that  the  longer  a  man  is  employed  in  public 
speaking  the  more  thoroughly  will  he  appreciate  the 
truth  of  these  principles.  As  the  Abbe  Mullois  so  well 
remarks,  "  If  a  young  priest  has  not  thoroughly  studied 
the  difficulties  of  public  speaking,  he  is  apt  to  think 
that  the  art  of  preaching  consists  in  composing  a  ser- 
mon, learning  it  by  rote,  and  then  delivering  it  without 
tripping.  If  he  finds  that  he  is  considered  to  have 
acquitted  himself  tolerably  well,  he  is  thenceforward 
disposed  to  dogmatise  remorselessly,  and  to  tolerate  no 
appeal  from  his  irrevocable  verdicts,  with  all  the  state- 
liness  of  a  man  who  has  the  satisfaction  of  not  knowing 
what  he  says.  But,"  continues  the  Abbe,  "  when  a  man 
has  studied  and  laboured,  say,  for  fifteen  years,  he  be- 
comes more  indulgent  and  moderate,  and  begins  to 
understand  that  there  may  be  other  ways  of  doing  good 
besides  his  own.  .  .  .  We  learn  dogmatic  theology 
designed  to  serve  as  the  groundwork  for  solid  lectures ; 
but  if  nobody  comes  to  hear  them,  or  if  they  send  the 
audience  to  sleep  ?  Ethics  also  are  learnt,  and  the 
solution  of  difficulties  which  occur  at  the  confessional : 
but  what  if  the  people  do  not  come  to  confession  ?     .     . 


SELECTION   OF  A  SUBJECT.    '  87 

It  should  be  ever  borne  in  mind  that  the  object  and 
aim  of  our  studies  is  '  ]pTO][)ter  nos  homines,  et  loropter 
nostrani  saliitem!  ....  A  priest  should  not  be 
learned  for  himself  only,  but  should  be  capable  of  com- 
municating what  he  knows  to  others,  and  of  securing 
their  attachment  to  it.  Things  are  taken  for  granted 
which  no  longer  exist.  It  is  supposed  that  the  churches 
are  full,  that  tepid  Christians  attend  the  services,  that 
the  confessionals  are  frequented.  These  are  gratuitous 
assumptions.  Before  such  notions  can  be  borne  out  by 
facts,  our  priests  must  be  taught  how  to  draw  men  to 
the  church  and  to  the  confessional,  and  how  to  instruct 
them  when  they  have  brought  them  there." 

Passing  now  from  the  consideration  of  these  extra- 
ordinary efforts,  we  come  to  the  Homily,  or  ordinary 
Sunday  discourse ;  and  although  it  is  true  that  in  dis- 
courses of  this  kind  there  may  not  be  much  room  for 
freedom  of  action  as  regards  the  selection  of  subject,  it 
is  no  less  true  that  in  our  treatment  of  that  subject  we 
shall  not  be  able  by  any  means  to  overlook  this  j)oint, 
as  will  abundantly  appear  from  even  a  cursory  glance 
at  the  nature  and  scope  of  the  Sunday  Instruction. 

The  Homily  or  ordinary  Sunday  discourse  is  described 
by  the  Bishop  of  Orleans,*  "  as  a  short  but  interesting 

*  "Entretiens  sur  la  Predication  Populaire." 


38  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

sermon,  calculated  from  its  nature  to  produce  a  lively 
impression  upon  souls."      It  may  be  founded  on  the 
Mystery  of  the  day,  or,  as  will  more  ordinarily  be  the 
case,  on  the  Gospel  which  is  read  in  the  Mass.     It  may 
be  treated  either  by  way  of  paraphrase  or  comment  on 
the  entire  Gospel ;  or,  what  is  more  generally  useful, 
the  Gospel  may  be  reduced  to  some  one  distinct  propo- 
sition, which  will  be  treated,  positis  iDonendis,  according 
to  the  ordinary  rules  of  a   discourse.*     But  as  the  pri- 
mary end  of  the  Homily  is  to  lead  our  hearers  to  a 
reformation  of  life  and  manners — in  other  words,  to 
make  them  better  men — it  is  in  all  cases  most  essential 
to  see  that  it  has  a  practical  application  to  our  special 
audience  and   their  special  wants.     Whilst  it  affords 
ample  scope  for  warm  appeals  to  the  heart ;  whilst  it 
ought  ever  tend  to  touch  and  to  influence  the  sinner, 
to  win  him  from  vice  and  to  excite  him  to  the  practice 
of  virtue ;  it  has  but  little  room  for  matters  that  are 
merely  speculative,  or  for  any  empty  display  of  style  or 
laboured  composition.     In  one  word,  it  will  be  a  plain 
simple  discourse,  instructive,  full  of  earnest  exhortation, 
and,  above  all  things,  eminently  practical.     To  attain 
its  end  it  must  oblige  our  hearers  to  look  into  them- 
selves, and  cause  them  to  take  efficacious  resolutions  to 


* 


"Pastor  and  his  People."     Part  ii.  chap.  ii. 


SELECTION   OF  A  SUBJECT.  39 

amend  their  lives.  It  cannot  attain  this  end  unless  it 
have  a  special  aj)plication  to  the  audience  before  us,  to 
their  wants  and  their  particular  failings ;  and  from  this 
it  follows  that,  although  the  subject  of  the  Sunday  dis- 
course may  be  practically  marked  out  for  us  in  the 
Gospel  of  the  day,  the  ai^plication  of  that  subject  will 
still  be  left  to  our  own  discretion,  whilst  the  whole 
effect  of  our  sermon  will  depend  upon  the  prudence 
and  the  tact  with  which  we  select  such  a  treatment  of 
the  subject  as  will  most  clearly  conduce  to  the  end  to 
be  attained. 

Whether,  therefore,  there  be  question  of  an  extra- 
ordinary effort,  or  of  the  simple  ordinary  Sunday  ser- 
mon, the  discreet  pastor  will  be  equally  solicitous  to 
study  how  he  may  present  his  subject  to  his  audience 
in  its  most  striking  and  practical  aspect,  how  he  may 
render  it  most  pleasing  to  them,  and  thus  most  readily 
win  their  acceptance  of  his  views.  Above  and  before 
all  things  else,  he  will,  from  the  first  moment  he  has 
selected  his  subject,  keep  continually  before  his  mind 
several  practical  questions,  upon  which  his  treatment  of 
that  subject  will  depend  for  much,  if  not  for  the  whole, 
of  its  success.  These  questions  are :  What  is  it  pre- 
cisely that  I  am  about  to  propose  to  my  hearers  ?  By 
what  means,  by  what  arguments,  by  what  earnest 
appeals  to  them,  do  I  expect  to  gain  my  end  ?     When 


40  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

once  the  answer  to  these  questions  stands  out,  perti- 
nently and  clearly,  before  his  mental  vision,  he  has 
surmounted  half  the  difficulties  which  beset  his  posi- 
tion. He  will  no  longer  run  the  risk  of  finding  himself 
in  the  place  of  a  certain  unfortunate  preacher  who, 
when  describing  his  performance  in  the  pulpit,  ex- 
pressed himself  in  the  following  terms :  "  I  did  not 
know,"  said  he,  "  what  I  was  going  to  say  before  I  got 
into  the  pulpit ;  I  did  not  know  what  I  was  saying 
whilst  I  was  there;  and  when  I  came  down  I  did 
not  know  what  I  had  been  saying."*  The  individual 
in  question  did  not  complete  the  picture  by  attempting 
to  describe  the  effect  of  his  discourse  upon  his  audience 
in  this  particular  case ;  but,  as  a  general  rule,  we  may 
safely  venture  to  assert  that  when  a  man  enters  the 
pulpit  without  a  definite  notion  of  what  he  is  going 
to  say,  his  audience  will  depart  in  a  state  of  mind,  the 
correlative  of  this,  without  a  definite  notion  of  what 
he  has  said.  Ex  niliilo  nihil  Jit  He  had  nothing  to 
say,  and  he  said  it. 

*  Dublin  Eeview,  vol.  36 — "  Sermons  and  Preachers." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  SUBJECT — EVERY  GOOD  DIS- 
COURSE WILL  BE  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ONE  GREAT 
LEADING  IDEA — THE  PEOPLE  ONLY  REMEMBER  ONE 
THING  AT  A  TIME — THE  UNITY  OF  THOUGHT  AND 
CONCEPTION  WHICH  IS  NECESSARY  TO  THE  SPEAKER 
AT  ALL  TIMES  AND  ON  ALL  OCCASIONS  IS  DOUBLY 
SO  TO  THE  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHER,  SINCE  HE  IS 
DOUBLY  EXPOSED  TO  THE  DANGER  OF  WANDERING 
FROM  HIS   SUBJECT. 

jAYING  carefully  selected  our  subject,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  general  jDi'inciples  laid  down 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  shall,  at  the  same  time, 
have  laid  the  foundation  of  what  is  perhaps  the  most 
important  step  of  all  in  the  preparation  of  an  extem- 
porary sermon,  viz.,  the  obtaining  of  a  clear  conception 
of  that  subject  and  of  the  leading  idea  of  our  discourse. 
Every  good  and  practical  discourse  will  contain,  and 
be  summed  up  in,  one,  and  only  one,  great  leading  idea. 
We  have  seen  that  an  extemporary  discourse  supposes 


42  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

a  careful  preliminary  operation  of  thought.  This  ope- 
ration of  thought  may,  of  course,  extend  itself  in  various 
ways ;  it  may  embrace  a  number  of  arguments,  of  illus- 
trations, and  of  appeals,  more  or  less  forcible,  to  the 
passions ;  but,  if  it  have  been  well  conceived,  and  vigor- 
ously worked  out,  it  will  be  ultimately  reduced  to  one 
great  leading  idea  which  will  grasp  the  whole  substance 
of  the  discourse.  And  this  for  the  pMn  and  simple  rea- 
son, that  a  speaker  is  no  more  able  to  treat  of  a  variety 
of  subjects  at  one  time,  than  an  audience  is  able  to 
master  and  retain  a  discourse  which  thus  treats  of 
everything  in  general  and  of  nothing  in  particular. 

He,  then,  who  wishes  to  speak  in  public,  must,  as  the 
Abbe  Bautain  remarks,"^  abov^  all  see  clearly  on  what 
he  has  to  speak,  and  he  must  obtain  a  right  conception 
of  the  leading  idea  of  his  discourse.  In  other  words,  the 
two  first  stages  of  our  preparation  are  reduced  to  the 
precise  determination  of  the  subject  as  already  ex- 
plained, and  to  the  conception  of  the  idea  of  the  dis- 
course. 

In  every  living  thing  we  find  a  principle  of  vitality 
and  life,  a  principle  of  individuality  and  unity  which 

*  "  The  Art  of  Extempore  Speaking.  By  M.  Bautain, 
Yicar-General,  and  Professor  at  the  Sorbonne."  An  excel- 
lent translation  of  this  useful  work  is  published  by  Bosworth 
and  Harrison,  London, 


CONCEPTION  OF  THE  SUBJECT.         43 

at  once  vivifies  the  object  in  which  it  dwells,  and  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  any  other.  As  in  man  the  soul ;  as 
in  the  physical  world  the  germ  of  life ;  so  in  the  intel- 
lectual world,  in  the  conceptions  of  the  mind  which  are 
truly  living  and  efficacious,  there  must  be  a  principle 
of  life,  of  individuality  and  unity.  In  a  discourse  this 
source  of  life,  this  principle  of  vitality  and  unity,  with- 
out which  the  loftiest  sentiments  and  the  most  polished 
sentences  will  be  but  as  empty  phrases  falling  idly  on 
the  air,  is  to  be  found  in  the  leading  or  parent  Idea ; 
that  Idea  which,  ultimately  embodied  in  the  proposition 
of  the  discourse,  will  be  the  great  point  whence  we 
shall  start  on  our  intellectual  journey,  to  the  establish- 
ment of  which  all  our  arguments,  illustrations,  and 
appeals  will  be  directed,  to  which  they  will  all  be,  more 
or  less  directly,  referrible,  and  finally  return. 

We  shall  consider  this  great  principle  of  unity  and 
life  more  closely  in  its  own  proper  place,  when  treating 
of  the  plan  of  a  discourse  and  its  leading  qualities. 
Let  it  suffice  to  remark  here  that  this  precise  determi- 
nation of  our  subject,  this  energetic  disciiDline  of  mind 
and  thought  by  which  a  man  forces  himself  to  speak 
of  one  thing  at  a  time,  is  necessary  to  the  speaker  at 
all  times  and  on  all  occasions.  It  is  doubly  necessary 
to  him  who  extemporises. 

The  man  who  writes  his  discourse  will  not, in  all  proba- 


44  EXTEMPOKARY  PREACHING.  ' 

bility,  unless  he  be  altogether  ignorant  of  the  ordinary 
principles  of  composition,  or  destitute  of  the  faculty  of 
reasoning,  wander  away  very  widely  from  his  subject. 
Bat,  unless  the  road  which  he  is  to  travel  has  been 
clearly  defined,  unless  the  point  from  which  he  starts, 
the  destination  whither  he  tends,  and  the  precise  route 
which  he  is  to  take,  all  stand  out  clearly  and  unmistak- 
ably before  his  mental  vision,  it  will  easily  be  otherwise 
with  him  who  extemporises.  Such  a  one  is  like  a  tra- 
veller who  starts,  indeed,  upon  his  journey  with  the 
intention  of  reaching  a  certain  goal,  but  without  any 
clear  or  definite  knowledge  of  the  road  by  which  he  is. 
to  travel.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  chance ;  one  wrong 
turning  may  lead  him  in  the  very  opposite  direction 
to  that  in  which  he  should  advance;  and,  being  a 
matter  of  chance,  he  is  as  likely  as  not  to  take  the 
wrong  turning.  It  is  the  same  with  the  extemporary 
speaker  who  has  not  secured  some  great  leading  idea,  so 
clearly  and  definitely  marked  out  that  he  cannot  mis- 
take it,  and  an  idea  to  which  everything  else  in  his  dis- 
course will  be  subordinate.  He  is  exposed  to  all  the 
adverse  influences  which  are  seldom  wanting  on  such 
an  occasion.  A  sudden  noise  in  the  church,  an  unex- 
pected disturbance,  an  unforeseen  distraction,  is  quite 
enough  to  confuse  him ;  and,  hence,  unsupported  as  he 
is  by  manuscript  or  copious  notes,  he  will  infallibly. 


CONCEPTION  OF  THE  SUBJECT.         45 

unless  he  can  fall  back  strongly  on  a  sharp,  clear,  pre- 
cisely defined  leading  idea,  lose  his  way,  and,  after 
floundering  more  or  less  hopelessly,  amongst  the  pitfalls 
which  surround  his  path,  he  finally  buried  in  an  abyss 
of  confusion  and  inextricable  disorder. 

And,  after  all,  what  other  result  could  be  expected 
from  the  efforts  of  one  who  undertakes  to  speak  with- 
out really  knowing  what  he  is  about,  or  what  he  wishes 
to  say;  who,  having  no  one  object  clearly  before  his 
mind,  speaks,  as  a  natural  consequence,  of  all  things 
except  those  perhaps  which  are  best  suited  to  the  occa- 
sion. Ask  the  hearers  of  such  a  preacher  what  he  said 
to  them,  and  they  can  give  you  no  account  of  it.  Ask 
himself,  an  hour  after  his  sermon,  what  he  preached 
about,  what  precise  virtue  he  inculcated,  what  practical 
method  of  practising  it  he  laid  down,  or  on  the  other 
hand,  what  particular  vice  he  assailed,  and  what  means 
of  overcoming  it  he  suggested — ask  him  what  was  the 
one  great  leading  idea  which,  during  the  whole  course 
of  his  sermon,  he  was  labouring  to  drive  home,  the 
one  great  truth  which  he  was  striving  to  write  on  the 
hearts  of  his  hearers,  and  he  can  give  you  no  definite 
answer.  You  will  see  that,  in  a  vague  and  disorderly 
way,  he  may  have  glanced  at  many  things,  but 
that  he  entered  thoroughly  into  none  of  them. 
Either  he  did  not  understand,  or  he  did  not  care  to 


46  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

remember,  that  primary  truth  which  no  orator,  least 
of  all  the  sacred  orator,  can  ever  afford  to  forget ;  viz., 
that  ordinary  people  only  remember  one  thing  at  a 
time.  If  you  drive  steadily,  earnestly,  and  persever- 
ingly,  at  this  one  thing  for  half  an  hour,  m  all  proba- 
bility you  will  make  them  remember  it.  You  may,  of 
course,  vary  your  arguments,  and  diversify  your  illus- 
trations, as  much  and  as  widely  as  necessity  may  require 
and  good  sense  suggest ;  but  let  all  come  back  to  the 
one  point,  let  all  tend  to  the  elucidation  and  confirma- 
tion of  the  one  great  idea,  and  you  will  write  that 
idea,  spite  of  themselves,  upon  the  hearts  of  your 
hearers.  Glance  at  many  things,  and  they  will  remem- 
ber nothing. 

The  first  great  step,  then,  in  the  preparation  of  an 
extemporary  discourse  is  to  obtain  a  clear,  precise,  and 
well-defined  view  of  the  leading  idea  which  is  to  be  the 
soul,  the  vivifying  and  unifying  principle,  of  that  dis- 
course. Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  how  we  are 
to  arrive  at  the  conception  of  this  idea,  and  how  it  is 
to  be  rendered  fruitful  and  full  of  life. 


l^lw^Ml■■M|^llll^ll^^Jj^^||^llll^ iUi]lJMI!l!^jJ''l/''JUjJil^^ 

!i 

1 

l^^^^a 

j 

W^^ 

CHAPTER  y. 

IN  ORDER  TO  CONCEIVE  OUR  SUBJECT  WE  MUST  FIRST 
MEDITATE  IT  DEEPLY  AND  THOROUGHLY — WANT  OF 
THOUGHT  A  GREAT  DEFICIENCY  OF  MODERN  SERMONS 
— THE  MODERN  ORATOR  MUST  BE  A  MAN  OF  KEEN 
INTELLIGENCE,  AND  POSSESS  THE  HABIT  OF  CLOSE 
AND   EARNEST   THOUGHT. 


E  liave  seen  the  great  importance  of  obtaining  a 
clear  conception  of  the  leading  idea  which  is  to 
pervade  the  whole  discourse,  which  is  to  give  that 
discourse  its  vitality  and  life,  and  make  it  fruitful  to 
those  who  listen  to  us.  Let  us  now  consider  how  we 
may  obtain  possession  of  this  idea. 

We  obtain  possession  of  this  idea — or,  in  other  words, 
we  conceive  it — by  a  practical  and  earnest  meditation  of 
our  subject.  And,  by  the  meditation  of  our  subject,  we 
understand  nothing  else  than  the  placing  of  ourselves 
face  to  face  with  it,  in  such  a  manner  that  we  may  study 
and  sift  it  to  the  very  bottom,  that  we  may  look  at  it  in 


48  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

all  its  different  aspects,  until,  so  to  speak,  we  become 
irradiated  with  it,  until  we  see  at  a  glance  how  we  can 
make  it  conduce  most  powerfully  and  efficaciously  to 
the  end  we  have  in  view. 

For  example  :  we  know  well  that  the  ultimate  object 
of  all  our  preaching  is  to  make  our  hearers  better  men, 
and  that  this  end  is  to  be  gained  by  instructing  our 
people  solidly  in  the  truths  of  their  religion ;  by  im- 
parting that  instruction  in  such  a  pleasing  and  attractive 
manner  as  to  render  it  acceptable  to  them  ;  and,  finally, 
by  powerful  appeals  to  the  passions  by  which  the  will 
is  swayed  and  ultimately  led  captive.  Docere :  Placere  : 
Movere.  With  these  great  principles  clearly  before  us, 
we  proceed,  after  having  carefully  selected  the  subject 
of  our  discourse,  to  study  it  with  all  attention,  and  with 
an  anxious  solicitude  to  discover  how  we  may  most 
practically  make  it  conduce  to  this  threefold  end.  In 
view  of  this  object  we  consider  the  amount  of  absolute 
instruction  which  our  hearers  may  require  on  the  point 
in  question,  and  how  that  instruction  may  be  conveyed 
to  them  in  the  clearest  and  most  precise  terms  ;  the  line 
of  argument  which  is  most  likely  to  carry  conviction  to 
them,  and  thus  make  the  most  lasting  impression  upon 
them ;  and,  finally,  how,  after  having  instructed  and 
convinced  them  of  the  truth  of  what  we  say,  we  may 
act  most  powerfully  upon  their  wills,  and  what  strokes 


MEDITATION   OF  THE  SUBJECT.  49 

of  oratory,  what  figures  of  speech,  what  telling  illus- 
trations from  Holy  Writ  or  elsewhere,  we  may  em- 
ploy to  move,  to  soften,  and  to  gain  them  to  our  purpose. 
With  such  a  conscientious  meditation  of  our  subject  as 
this — a  meditation  which  will  be  eminently  practical, 
because  we  shall  never  lose  sight  of  that  special  audience, 
with  its  special  needs  and  n<3cessities,  to  whom  our  dis- 
course is  to  be  addressed — it  is  morally  impossible  that, 
sooner  or  later,  directly  or  indirectl}',  we  should  not 
obtain  a  clear  and  vivid  view  of  that  one  great  leading 
Idea  which  is  to  pervade  the  whole  discourse ;  to  the 
establishment  of  which  everything  else  is  necessarily  to 
be  subordinate  ;  that  idea  which  is  to  be  the  source  of 
life  and  light  and  strength ;  that  idea  which  we  are 
truly  said  to  conceive,  since  it  is  the  offspring  of  our 
own  intellectual  operation,  the  fruit  of  our  own  earnest 
thought. 

As  the  Abbe  Bautain  beautifully  remarks,*  in  every 
living  discourse  there  is  a  parent  Idea,  a  fertile  germ 
which  animates  the  various  parts  of  the  discourse,  just 
as  the  principal  organs  and  members  of  a  man's  body  are 
animated  by  his  soul.  And  this  is  the  Idea  which  is 
conceived  by  the  mind  through  the  earnest  meditation 
of  our  subject. 

*  Chapter  9. 


60  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

All  the  great  masters  of  the  art  of  eloquence  insist 
emphatically  upon  the  urgency  of  this  meditation  of 
our  subject,  and  of  the  train  of  thought  which  it  neces- 
sarily supposes.  We  ought  never  lose  sight  of  the 
great  but  homely  truth  that  "  what  costs  but  little  is 
worth  precisely  what  it  costs ;"  and  if  this  be  true,  might 
we  not  fairly  ask  a  good  many  extemporary  preachers 
how  much  their  sermons  would  be  worth  if  they  were 
to  be  weighed  in  these  scales  ?  Perhaps  one  of  the  most 
striking  deficiencies  in  the  sermons  of  the  day,  and  one 
which  causes  educated  men  to  declaim  most  loudly 
against  the  vapidity  of  the  pulpit,  is  their  want  of 
thought.  And  this  remark  applies  scarcely  less  forcibly 
to  some  who  write  their  sermons  than  to  some  who 
preach  extempore.  The  man  who  writes  commences 
his  composition  without  having  spent  any  time  in  serious 
thought  upon  it,  just  as  the  extemporary  preacher  enters 
the  pulpit  without  any  definite  idea  of  what  he  is  about 
to  say.  The  result  is  that  the  one  and  the  other  speak 
at  best  but  superficially;  too  often,  perhaps,  they  are  as 
inexact  in  doctrine  as  they  are  inelegant  in  expression. 
The  discourse  is  merely  a  heap  of  cold,  jDointless,  vapid 
ideas ;  a  mass  of  texts  without  application,  and  of  re- 
flections at  once  immature  and  fruitless.  Havinof  taken 
no  pains  to  study  his  subject,  possessing  no  clear  or  well 
defined  ideas  upon  it,  the  preacher  is,  as  a  necessary 


MEDITATION   OF  THE  SUBJECT.  51 

consequence,  obscure.     He  cannot  but  be  cold  and  in- 
animate, since  it  is  only  in  the  furnace  of  deep,  earnest 
meditation  that  the  heart   and  the   imagination   are 
efficaciously   inflamed — ''In  oneditatione  Qiiea  exar- 
descit  ignis.''*     Like  a  traveller  in    a   strange  coun- 
try, he  knows   neither  the  direction  whither  he  tends 
nor  the   nature   of  the   road   by  which  he   proposes 
to  journey.      He  is  jDainfully  diffuse,  perpetually  re- 
turning over  the   ground  which  he  has   already  tra- 
versed, taking  much  time  and  many  words  to  say  that 
"which  might  have  been  well  and  abundantly  expressed 
in  a  few  clear,  neat,  and  well-chosen  sentences.     Let 
us   convince   ourselves  that  nothing   helps   so   much, 
especially  in  these  days,  to  bring  the  ministry  of  the 
"word  into  contempt,  as  shallowness  and  want  of  thought. 
We  are  all  the  more  forcibly  bound  to  remember  this 
from  the  very  peculiarity  of  our  position,  a  peculiarity 
which  constitutes  one  of  our  greatest  privileges,  but  one 
w^hich  there  is  a  great  temptation  to  abuse.     When  we 
enter  the  pulpit  we  are  in  absolute  possession  of  the 
position ;  there  is  no  one  to  call  us  to  account,  to  re- 
prove us  for  our  errors,  our  coldness,  it  may  be  our 
inanity.     If  we  were  pleading  at  the  bar  we  should 
be   taken  sharply  to   task  at  every  turn,  and,  hence, 

*  Ps.  xxxviii.  4. 


52  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

although  the  matter  in  debate  might  be  of  little  mo- 
ment, we  should  take  good  care  to  master  it  thoroughly, 
and  this  not  only  to  gain  our  cause,  but  to  provide 
against  the  attacks  of  those  who  were  weighing  our 
every  word  and  argument  in  order  to  overthrow  and 
defeat  them  if  that  were  possible.  In  the  pulpit  we 
plead  for  God  and  the  interests  of  immortal  souls,  but, 
safe  from  the  attacks  or  reproaches  of  a  watchful  adver- 
sary, and  rashly  forgetful  of  the  dreadful  account  we 
are  to  render  of  our  sacred  ministry,  we  do  so  with  an 
amount  of  negligence,  coldness,  and  thoughtless  unpre- 
paredness,  which  would  cover  us  with  confusion  were 
we  to  attempt  to  plead  in  such  a  manner  before 
any  human  tribunal  of  justice.  Let  us  be  assured 
that  we  shall  only  master  our  subject  by  deep  thought 
and  earnest  meditation  on  it.  Unless  we  thus  master 
and  fully  possess  it,  how  can  we  announce  and  develop 
it  with  ease  and  facility  ?  In  what  other  way  is  our 
intellect  to  gather  its  arguments,  our  imagination  its 
rich  and  varied  figures  of  speech,  our  heart  its  best  and 
deepest  emotions  ?  No  !  let  us  convince  ourselves  once 
for  all  that  if  we  are  to  take  our  proper  place  amongst 
the  men  of  our  age,  if  we  are  to  be  orators  in  any  sense 
of  the  word,  we  must  be  men  of  keen  intelligence,  men 
to  whom  the  habit  of  close  and  earnest  thought  is  at 
once  easy,  pleasant,  and  familiar.    Let  us  apply  to  our- 


MEDITATION  OF  THE  SUBJECT.  53 

selves  the  sound  advice  which  the  Abbe  Mullois*  gives 
to  preachers.  "Let  us  seize,"  says  he,  "the  superiority 
which  is  conferred  by  knowledge,  and,  by  its  means,  we 
shall  secure  the  attention'of  both  great  and  small.  The 
world  is  athirst  for  knowledge.  Let  us  give  it  know- 
ledge ;  but,  to  do  this,  we  must,  first  of  all,  have  filled 
ourselves  with  knowledge,  else  we  shall  be  weaker, 
instead  of  stronger,  than  those  whom  we  are  to  teach. 
If  we  are  men  of  learning  we  shall  be  stronger  than  the 
world,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  dominate  it  by  a  twofold 
power,  the  power  of  human  and  of  Divine  knowledge. 
The  world  possesses  the  earth,  and  the  power  of  human 
speech,  only.  We  shall  possess  all  that  the  earth  pos- 
sesses, but  we  shall  possess  something  more,  something 
to  which  it  can  make  no  claim,  the  power  of  God's 
word.  Thus  we  shall  rule  the  world."  Let  us  ponder 
the  words  of  another  modern  writer,t  who  speaks  no 
less  plainly  on  this  matter.  "  At  all  events,"  says  he, 
"  they  oblige  us  to  acknowledge  that  there  may  be  some 
justice  in  the  reiterated  complaints  we  hear  from  the 
more  highly  cultivated  portion  of  the  laity  of  the  dul- 
ness  and  unprofitableness  of  the  generality  of  modern 

*  "  Cours  d'Eloquence  Sacr(^  Populaire,"  etc.  Par  M. 
L'Abb^  Isidore  Mullois. 

t  "  The  Duty  and  the  Discipline  of  Extemporary  Preach" 
ing."     By  F.  Barham  Zincke.     Rivingtons. 


54  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

sermons.  Their  attainments  in  knowledge,  and  the 
thought  they  have  bestowed  on  that  knowledge,  are  in 
advance  of  the  knowledge  and  thought  which  perhaps 
the  majority  of  modern  sermons  exhibit.  If  this  be  so, 
and  few,  I  believe,  are  disposed  to  dispute  it,  there  can 
be  but  one  way  of  meeting  the  complaint,  and  that  is, 
by  paying  more  attention  to  preaching;  by  which  I 
mean  that  we  must  endeavour  to  attain  to  fuller  and 
wider  knowledge  of  the  subjects  upon  which  we  have  to 
speak,  and  to  a  more  effective  and  better  way  of  saying 
what  w^e  have  to  say."  Finally,  let  us  take  to  heart  the 
wise  precept  of  Besplas.*  "If  you  desire  to  com- 
pose a  telling  discourse,  read  a  little,  think  a  good  deal, 
feel  intensely."  "  Lisez  un  peu,  pensez  davantage,  sen- 
tez  beaucoup." 

*  "  Essai  sur  i'Eloquence  de  la  Chaire." 


S5^^^2^' :t.-- 

@ 

te^^^^l 

l«^S^^I&\W^^^«f<f^^ 

KJ^^^^ 

r^^M^'^^ 

CHAPTER  YI. 

TWO  PRINCIPAL  METHODS  OF  MEDITATING  A  SUBJECT, 
THE  DIRECT  AND  THE  INDIRECT — FEW  MEN  ARE 
COMPETENT.  TO  EMPLOY  THE  DIRECT — NATURE  OF 
THE  INDIRECT  METHOD — WE  MUST  KNOW  WHERE  TO 
LOOK  FOR  MATTER  AND  HOW  TO  READ — HOW  A 
MAN  MAY  MAKE  THE  THOUGHTS  OF  ANOTHER  HIS 
OWN,  AND  THE  ONLY  WAY  IN  WHICH  IT  IS  LAWFUL 
TO  DO  SO. 


E  have  probably  said  enougb  to  convince  the 
young  preacher  that  the  success  of  his  sermon 
will  depend  very  much  upon  the  manner  in  which  he 
shall  have  meditated  his  subject,  and  grasped  it  in  one 
great  leading  Idea.  Let  us  now  investigate  somewhat 
more  fully  the  various  ways  in  which  a  man  may  medi- 
tate his  subject. 

These  methods  are  reduced  to  two — the  direct  and 
the  indirect. 

There  are,  no  doubt,  in  the  world  some  men  of  great 
intellect;   of  deep  and  accurate  information;   with   a 


56  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

grasp  of  mind  which  enables  them  to  turn  that  infor- 
mation to  ready  and  practical  account ;  and,  above  all, 
with  souls  simple,  unsophisticated,  keen  for  knowledge, 
and  eager  in  their  search  after  truth.  When  such  men 
are  called  upon  to  address  their  fellows,  it  is  easy- 
enough  for  them  to  place  themselves  at  once,  directly 
and  immediately,  face  to  face  with  their  subject.  Re- 
quiring no  collection  of  materials  beyond  what  is  sup- 
plied on  the  spur  of  the  moment  from  the  well -stored 
granary  of  their  own  minds,  and  beaten  into  shape  and 
applied  to  the  subject  in  question  by  the  mere  force  of 
their  own  intellect,  they  are  able  at  once  to  bring  all 
the  powers  of  their  mind  to  bear  upon  it.  They  have 
scarcely  begun  to  think  of  it  before  they  are,  so  to 
speak,  penetrated  with  it,  and  irradiated  with  the  light 
which  it  diffuses.  They  see  it  in  all  its  aspects.  They 
pierce,  with  one  strong,  keen,  eager  glance,  the  precise 
manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  brought  to  act  upon  those 
whom  they  are  about  to  address.  Thus  meditating  it, 
in  itself,  and  in  its  manifold  relations  to  their  audience, 
they,  sooner  or  later,  conceive  their  subject  in  the  spiri- 
tual and  intellectual  acceptation  of  the  term,  and,  in 
this  conception,  obtain  the  leading  idea  of  the  discourse ; 
that  idea,  which  (unless  they  prefer  to  take  a  vieiv — 
and  of  this  we  shall  have  something  to  say  presently) 
will  be  embodied  in  a  plain,  clear,  tangible  proposition, 


TWO   WAYS  OF  MEDITATING  A  SUBJECT.  57 

to  the  successful  establishment  and  sustainment  of 
which  the  remainder  of  the  discourse  will  be 
directed. 

This  is  called  the  direct  method  of  meditating  our 
subject,  and  it  is  pretty  plain,  we  imagine,  that,  although 
infinitely  superior  in  itself  to  any  other,  it  is  one  which 
is  feasible  only  to  the  man  of  genius,  of  keen  intellect, 
of  deep  and  ready  information. 

There  are,  however,  comparatively  few  preachers 
sufficiently  well  versed  in  sacred  science,  or,  at  least, 
whose  knowledge  is  sufficiently  fresh  and  accurate,  to 
enable,  or,  indeed,  entitle  them  to  endeavour  to  grasp 
their  subject  without  some  previous  revision  and  read- 
ing-up  of  matter.  Such  men  as  these — and  perhaps  it 
is  just  as  well  that  they  will  always  constitute  the  great 
majority — must  be  content  to  follow  a  more  laborious 
and  circuitous  route  in  the  meditation  of  their  subject. 
They  must  adopt  what  is  called  the  indirect  method, 
which  is  nothing  else  than  such  a  course  of  careful  and 
scientific  reading,  as  will  enable  them  to  arrive  at  the 
same  results  as  are  achieved  by  the  man  of  greater 
genius,  and  of  more  brilliant  attainments,  through  the 
mere  force  of  his  own  unaided  powers.  Let  them,  how- 
ever, console  themselves  with  the  reflection  that  this 
indirect  method,  althouo^h  it  mav  be  somewhat  more 
laborious,  is  vastly  safer  than  the  other,  whilst  a  little 


58  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

practice  will  render  it  uot  only  easy,  but  as  pleasant  as 
it  will  certainly  prove  useful. 

The  first  step,  then,  in  the  indirect  method,  is  a  course 
of  reading,  more  or  less  elaborate  as  occasion  may  re- 
quire, on  the  subject  which  we  have  selected  for  our 
discourse.  A  great  part  of  the  success  of  this  course  of 
reading  will  depend,  we  need  hardly  say,  upon  one  or 
two  very  practical  points.  We  7)iust  knoiu  where  to  go 
for  matter,  and  we  must  knoiv  Jioiu  to  read. 

We  must  know  where  to  go  for  matter ;  since  it  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  hard- worked  mission- 
ary priest,  whose  time  for  reading  will  probably  be  very 
limited,  to  be  able  to  lay  his  hand  at  once  upon  the 
book  which  he  requires.  Amongst  the  many  works 
suitable  for  such  a  purpose,  it  is  not  very  easy  to  make 
a  selection,  as  this  is  a  subject  on  which  men's  minds 
differ  so  widely.  It  may,  however,  be  said,  in  a  general 
way,  that  the  principal  books  which  we  need  consult 
for  this  purpose  will  be  the  Holy  Scriptures,  a  sound 
theological  treatise,  or  a  good  ascetical  work.  Holy 
Scripture  will  supply  us  with  the  strongest  proofs,  the 
grandest  figures,  and  the  deepest  affections.  A  good 
theological  treatise  will  furnish  us  with  clear,  precise, 
and,  above  all,  with  sound  and  correct  arguments ; 
whilst,  from  any  standard  work  of  ascetical  theology,  such 
as  the  Practice  of  Christian  and  Religious  Perfection 


TWO  WAYS  OF  MEDITATING  A  SUBJECT.  59 

by  Rodriguez,  we  shall  draw,  not  only  sound  principles 
of  Christian  life  and  perfection  to  impart  to  others,  but 
such  an  access  of  unction  and  religious  feelino-  as  will 
render  our  words  warm  and  efficacious.  For  ordinary 
and  familiar  catechetical  instructions  we  need  scarcely 
go  beyond  the  admirable  Catechism  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  which,  as  every  priest  knows,  treats  in  the  most 
simple,  but,  at  the  same  time,  fruitful  and  lucid  manner, 
of  the  Symbol,  the  Sacraments,  the  Commandments, 
and  Prayer.  The  study  of  these  works  will  perhaps  be 
far  more  useful  than  any  mere  "  sermon  books."  Ordi- 
nary sermon  books  will  probably  afford  little  assistance 
to  most  men.  Such  works  contain,  of  course,  set  and 
finished  sermons,  developed  and  amplified  according  to 
recognized  and  established  rules ;  but  it  is  evident  to 
every  one  that  a  man  who  aspires  to  preach  practically 
and  to  the  point,  with  an  earnest,  sharp,  and  special 
application  of  his  discourse  to  the  special  audience  be- 
fore him,  can  only  avail  himself  of  their  assistance  with 
great  difficulty,  and  with  many  palpable  risks. 

The  main  point  lies,  not  so  much  in  the  possession  of 
many  books,  as  in  the  thorough  knowledge  of  a  few. 
As  we  have  said  above,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  lay  our 
hand  at  once  upon  the  book  we  need ;  otherwise  we 
shall  lose  more  time  in  turning  over  the  pages  of  various 
works  than  would  have  amply  sufficed  for  oar  purpose. 


60  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

And  as  we  require  ideas,  not  words,  it  is  obvious  that, 
for  the  greater  number  of  men,  the  most  practically 
useful  books,  in  addition  to  those  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  are  either  those  which  contain  good  skeleton 
sermons,  of  which  we  possess  an  abundance,  especially 
in  the  French  language  ;  or,  matter  for  preaching,  such 
as  the  "  Thesaurus  Biblicus,"  "  Thesaurus  Patrum,"  and 
perhaps  best  of  all,  "  Instructissima  Bibliotheca  Manua- 
lis  Concionatoria,"  of  Lohner. 

Not  only  must  we  know  where  to  go  for  matter,  but 
what  is  equally  important,  we  must  know  how  to  read. 
Many  men  read  much  and  with  very  little  practical 
result,  since  their  reading  is  of  such  a  discursive  cha- 
racter as  to  leave  no  solid  traces  behind.  Others  read 
as  though  their  object  was  to  form  their  style;  but 
although  this  was  very  good  and  very  necessary  in  its 
own  proper  place,  it  is  not  the  kind  of  reading  which 
will  be  of  any  practical  service  to  us  in  the  circumstances 
which  we  are  now  considering.  Now,  we  read  simply 
in  order  to  acquire  matter ;  matter  which  is  to  be  beaten 
into  shape  and  reduced  to  order  in  the  crucible  of  our 
own  intellectual  operation,  that  thus  it  may  be  laid 
before  our  hearers  in  such  a  manner  as  to  contribute 
most  powerfully  and  effidently  to  the  attainment  of  our 
end,  the  instruction  and  persuasion  of  our  audience. 
Having  selected  our  author,  we  propose  to  ourselves  to 


TWO   WAYS  OF  MEDITATING  A  SUBJECT.  Gl 

sift  him  to  the  very  bottom,  that  we  may,  in  the  first 
place,  refresh  our  memory  on  those  matters  which  we 
may  have  begun  to  forget,  and  thus  put  ourselves  in  a 
position  to  impart  sound,  solid,  and  exact  information  and 
instruction  on  the  point  in  question.  More  than  this,  we 
endeavour,^ if  we  happen  to  be  studying  a  sermon  or  any 
other  formal  composition,  to  master  and  possess  the  gene- 
ral order  of  the  discourse,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
various  ideas  are  brought  out  and  presented.  We  also 
study  the  figures  of  speech,  the  comparisons,  the  exam- 
ples, the  forcible  illustrations,  which  give  life  and  light 
to  the  ideas  expressed,  and  contribute  to  the  nerve, 
force,  and  beauty  of  the  whole  discourse.  We  read  in 
such  a  manner  as  is  best  calculated  to  invigorate  the 
imagination  and  set  it  in  full  play,  to  excite  our  zeal,  to 
inspire  us  with  conceptions  that  are  full  of  life  and 
passion ;  in  a  word,  to  put  the  spirit  of  invention  into 
full  and  active  operation. 

It  is  obvious  that  these  results  will  not  be  obtained 
by  mere  discursive  or  hasty  reading.  Hence,  if  we 
would  read  with  profit,  we  must  never  lose  sight  of  the 
great  object  in  view.  We  must  read  slowly,  carefully, 
and,  above  all,  with  pencil  in  hand ;  and,  reading  thus, 
with  deep  and  serious  attention,  and  with  the  mind's 
eye  ever  turned  in  upon  ourselves  and  the  end  to  be 
gained,  we  must,  as  we  proceed,  make  short  but  lucid 


62  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

and  substantial  notes  of  everything  that  strikes  us  as 
peculiarly  useful  either  for  the  instruction,  the  convic- 
tion, or,  the  persuasion  of  our  hearers. 

We  must  read  in  this  manner :  slowly,  carefully,  with 
pencil  in  hand,  until  we  feel  that  we  have  done  enough  ; 
or,  to  use  a  still  more  homely  phrase,  "we  feel  full  of  our 
subject.  The  time  has  then  come  to  lay  our  book  aside, 
to  bring  once  more  the  operations  of  our  mind  into  full 
play.  To  this  end,  we  take  up  the  notes  which  we 
made  during  our  reading,  and  re-read  them  face  to  face 
with  our  subject.  We  ponder  them  seriously,  before 
God ;  we  endeavour  to  penetrate  them  in  all  their 
varied  significancy ;  to  discern  and  mark  out,  with  the 
utmost  possible  clearness,  the  relations  which  they  most 
naturally  assume  towards  the  subject  which  we  have 
selected  for  our  discourse.  By  this  serious  meditation 
we  become  fully  possessed  of  our  matter,  and  "inahe  it 
OUT  own  in  the  true  and  only  sense  in  which  it  is  ever 
lawful  to  appropriate  and  make  use  of  the  writings  or 
conceptions  of  another.  Although  we  are  traversing  a 
path  which  many  have  travelled  before  us  leaving  their 
traces  behind  them,  and  on  which  therefore  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  be  original  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word, 
we,  nevertheless,  as  Bautaio  remarks,  attain  that  other 
species  of  originality  which  consists  in  putting  forth  no 
ideas  except  such  as  we  have  made  our  own,  and  which 


TWO   WAYS  OF  MEDITATING  A  SUBJECT.  G3 

we  have  thus  quickened  with  the  life  of  our  own  mind  ; 
a  condition  which  is  indispensable  if  the  discourse  is  to 
be  vivified  by  the  principle  of  life ;  a  condition  which 
distinguishes  the  orator  who  speaks  from  the  actor  who 
merely  impersonates ;  since  the  former  draws  on  his 
own  interior  resources  even  whilst  he  borrows  the  sub- 
stance of  his  ideas  from  another,  whilst  the  latter,  no 
matter  how  well  he  may  act,  never  advances  beyond  the 
province  of  the  actor,  who  does  not  even  pretend  to  give 
expression  to  any  sentiment  of  his  own.  Not  only  do 
we  thus  make  the  ideas  which  we  may  have  borrowed 
from  another  our  own,  to  be  expressed,  in  due  course, 
in  our  own  way  and  in  our  own  words,  but  we,  at  the 
same  time,  conceive  our  subject  in  the  manner  already 
described,  and  obtain  a  plain,  clear,  and  tangible  view  of 
the  leading  idea  of  our  discourse,  that  idea  which  is  to 
be  presently  embodied  in  the  proposition,  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  which  we  shall  find,  when  we  proceed  to 
make  our  plan,  that  our  "  notes"  will  conduce  in  a  mar- 
vellous and  most  useful  manner. 

Thus,  by  the  indirect  method,  do  we  arrive,  if  more 
laboriously,  perhaps  more  safely,  at  the  same  result  as 
was  obtained  by  the  man  of  greater  genius,  and  of  more 
brilliant  attainments,  through  the  mere  force  of  his  own 
keen  piercing  steady  thought,  viz.,  the  conception  of 
our  subject. 


64  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

If  we  are  compelled  to  travel  by  the  slower  route,  let 
us  be  thankful  that,  leading  as  it  does  to  such  practical 
and  satisfactory  results,  it  is  so  easy,  clear,  and  well- 
defined* 

*  On  this  whole  subject  see  "Sacred  Eloquence,"  chap.  iv. 
sec.  ii.,  and  chap.  viii.  sec.  vi.,  third  edition. 


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CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  MATTER  OE  OUR  DIS- 
COURSE— ABSOLUTE  NECESSITY  OF  SUCH  ORDER  AND 
ARRANGEMENT — ITS  TRUE  IDEA — OPINIONS  OF  ST. 
FRANCIS  BORGIA,  ST.  CHARLES  BORROMEO,  ST.  FRAN- 
CIS DE  SALES,  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL,  ETC.,  ON  THIS 
SUBJECT. 


|E  have  now  arrived  at  a  very  important  point  in 


the  preparation  of  an  extemporary  discourse. 
Through  the  process  of  study,  of  thought,  and  of  dili- 
gent reading,  which  we  have  been  engaged  in  consider- 
ing during  the  last  few  pages,  we  have  brought  the 
young  preacher  to  that  point  in  which  he  will  have 
obtained  a  clear  conception  of  his  subject,  of  the  lead- 
ing idea  which  is  to  predominate  and  vivify  his  dis- 
course, and  the  general  means  by  which  he  is  to  secure 
the  end  which  he  proposes  to  himself  in  his  sermon. 
In  other  words,  he  will  have  secured  the  leading  idea, 
and  collected  the  materials  of  his  discourse. 

6 


Q6  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

Having  made,  during  the  course  of  his  reading,  more 
or  less  copious  notes,  he  has  under  his  eye,  at  this  stage 
of  his  preparation,  all  those  texts  of  Scripture,  those 
extracts  from  the  Fathers,  those  theological  reasons, 
arguments,  proofs,  and  illustrations,  which  seemed  to 
him  best  calculated  to  instruct,  convince,  and  move  his 
hearers ;  he  possesses  abundant  materials  with  which  to 
raise  the  edifice  that  is  presently  to  be  erected,  but,  as 
yet,  he  possesses  those  materials  in  a  confused  mass. 
They  lack  that  order,  regularity,  and  symmetry,  which 
are  just  as  essential  to  the  edifice  which  he  proposes  to 
raise,  as  the  same  qualities  are  necessary  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  material  building.  As  the  wood  and 
stone  which  have  been  brought  together  only  become 
useful  under  the  builder's  hand  when  they  are  arranged 
according  to  the  plans  of  the  skilful  architect  who  has 
conceived  the  design  in  its  entirety  and  unity,  so,  the 
materials  which  the  young  preacher  has  collected  during 
his  study,  only  become  thoroughly  and  practically  effi- 
cient when  they  have  been  arranged  with  such  skill 
and  precision  that  everything  wdll  be  in  its  proper  place, 
and  thus  conduce,  in  the  most  striking  manner,  to  the 
strength,  the  vigour,  and  the  compactness  of  the  whole. 

The  preacher  sees,  indeed,  at  a  glance,  that  whilst 
the  idea  of  his  discourse  will  necessarilv  be  one,  the 
points  of  view  from  which  it  may  be  presented,  the 


NECESSITY  OF  ARRANGEMENT.  67 

arguments  by  which  it  may  be  sustained,  and  the  ex- 
amples by  which  it  may  be  illustrated,  will  be  various. 
He  perceives,  too,  that  his  subject  naturally  divides 
itself  into  several  leading  heads,  aiad  that  the  materials 
which  he  has  collected  during  his  course  of  reading  just 
as  naturally  conduce  and  lend  themselves  to  the  sustain- 
ment  of  one  or  other  of  these  heads.  And  the  task 
before  him,  at  this  moment,  is  thus  to  arrange  and 
apportion  his  materials ;  to  reduce  that  which  is  con- 
fused to  order ;  in  one  word,  to  put  everything  into  its 
proper  place. 

No  doubt  we  have  all  heard,  over  and  over  again, 
that  "order  is  heaven's  first  law."  By  this  primary 
operation  of  the  Divine  Hand,  as  it  moved  over  the 
face  of  the  deep,  it  brought  forth,  out  of  that  which  had 
been  void  and  empty,  order,  life,  and  light.  In  his  own 
degree  and  measure,  the  young  preacher  must  play  the 
part  of  a  creator,  since  he  must,  by  the  arrangement 
and  disposition  of  his  materials,  evoke  order  out  of  con- 
fusion, and  give  light  to  what,  without  this,  would 
remain  dark  and  obscure.  The  materials  which  he  has 
collected  constitute  the  matter  or  substance  of  his  dis- 
course ;  but,  to  this  matter  he  must  give  its  own  proper 
form,  since  it  is  the  form  alone  which  is  capable  of  im- 
parting beauty,  light,  and  life;  and  he  will  do  well 
never  to  lose  sight  of  the  truth  laid  down  so  forcibly  by 


68  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING, 

Fenelon,  viz.,  that  we  seldom  find  perfect  order  in  the 
operations  of  the  mind  and  intellect. 

Abstracting  for  a  moment  from  the  precise  method 
according  to  which  we  may  arrange  our  materials  and 
put  them  in  order,  we  lay  it  down,  then,  as  an  incontro- 
vertible proposition,  that  some  such  disposition  and 
arrangement  is  a  point  of  the  utmost  importance;  and 
one  which  will  have  the  most  direct  influence  upon  the 
success  of  the  discourse. 

By  the  order  and  disposition  of  a  discourse  we  under- 
stand the  tout-ensemble,  or  general  effect  and  harmony 
of  the  whole,  as  well  as  the  proportion  of  the  various 
parts ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  general  plan  of  the  dis- 
course, its  division  into  several  great  leading  heads,  and 
the  unity  or  connection  of  the  whole.     St.  Francis  Bor- 
gia* speaks  with  special  emphasis  and  clearness  of  the 
absolute  necessity  of  this  orderly  arrangement  of  the 
materials  of  our  discourse.      "An  architect,"  says  he, 
"  when  he  is  about  to  construct  a  grand  edifice,  is  not 
satisfied  with  merely  collecting  the  materials  which  he 
needs.     On  the  contrary,  his  attention  is  principally 
directed  to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  be  arrano-ed, 
and  how  he  may  give  the  necessary  proportions  and 
strength  to  the  various  parts  of  the  building.    Consider 

*  "  De  Ratione  Concionandi."    Cap.  4. 


NECESSITY  OF  ARRANGEMENT.  09 

the  action  of  God,"  he  continues,  "  in  the  creation  of  the 
world.  Did  he  not,  in  the  first  place,  reduce  chaos  to 
order,  and  bring  forth  light  out  of  darkness  ?  Did  he 
not  arrange  all  things  else  in  their  own  proper  position 
before  proceeding  to  the  creation  of  man  ?"  Behold  the 
model  of  the  preacher !  It  is  thus  that  he  ought,  in  the 
first  place,  to  select  his  subject,  to  meditate  it,  and  to 
obtain  a  general  idea  of  it  in  its  entirety.  Then,  he 
must  arrange  his  materials  with  assiduous  care,  putting 
each  part  in  its  own  proper  place,  so  that,  each  member 
contributing  its  own  share  to  the  general  result,  order, 
wisdom,  and  intelligence  may  pervade  and  dominate  the 
entire  discourse. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  dwell  at  greater  length 
upon  the  utility,  not  to  say  the  absolute  necessity,  of 
order  and  arrangement,  if  our  preaching  is  to  be  prac- 
tically successful.  It  is  scarcely  worth  while  either  to 
glance  at  a  difificulty  which  is  raised  now  and  again, 
probably  by  those  who  wish  to  find  an  excuse  for  their 
own  short-comings,  to  the  effect  that  no  such  order  or 
arrangement  as  that  on  which  we  insist  is  to  be  found 
in  the  sermons  and  instructions  of  the  Fathers.  This 
is  one  of  those  specious  objections  which  are  scarcely 
worth  answering.  It  may  suffice  to  say  that  it  will  be 
time  enough  for  most  preachers  to  despise  or  neglect 
the  ordinary  rules  and  precautions  which  prudent  me  a 


70  EXTEMPOKARY   PREACHING. 

are  but  too  glad  to  take,  when  they  shall  have  received 
the  inspirations,  the  assistance,  and  the  light  from 
above,  which  were  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon  the 
Fathers,  and  which  ordinary  mortals,  who  neglect  the 
ordinary  means  of  doing  His  work  which  God  has 
placed  within  their  reach,  are  least  of  all  likely  to  re- 
ceive. No  doubt  the  Fathers  knew  perfectly  well  what 
was  best  suited  to  the  times  in  which  they  lived  and 
the  people  amongst  whom  they  ministered,  and  that 
they  employed  the  means  which  they  judged  best  suited 
to  the  end.  But  it  is  no  less  certain  that  St.  Charles, 
St.  Francis  Borgia,  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  St.  Vincent  of 
Paul,  and  St.  Ligaori,  also  knew  perfectly  well  the  style 
of  preaching  which  was  best  suited  to  the  necessities  of 
after  ages,  and  these  great  saints  and  masters  of  sacred 
eloquence  all  speak  emphatically  of  the  necessity  of 
order,  of  arrangement,  and  careful  disposition  of  mate- 
rials, in  sermons  which  are  to  be  successful  in  modern 
times.  That  the  sermons  of  the  Fathers  produced  great 
results  in  their  day,  and  results  to  which  we  may  not 
aspire,  is  most  undoubtedly  true ;  but,  it  is  no  less  true, 
that,  in  our  day,  the  only  sermons  which  produce  tan- 
gible and  lasting  results  are  those  which  are  distin- 
guished for  order,  clearness,  and  definiteness  of  purpose. 
Pulpit  eloquence  may  indeed  be  brilliant  and  sparkling 
without  being  orderly  or  practical  \  it  will  not  rarely 


NECESSITY  OF  ARRANGEMENT.  71 

happen,  perhaps,  that  its  deficiency  of  practical  applica- 
tion will  be  in  direct  proportion  to  its  brilliancy ;  but 
although  such  preaching  may  please  for  the  moment, 
and  fill  the  mouths  of  men  with  the  praises  of  the  orator, 
it  will  leave  no  fruit  behind  ;  it  will  be  as  barren  of  real 
results  as  it  will  be  unworthy  of  Almighty  God  and  the 
sacred  chair. 

Besides,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  character  of 
the  greater  number  of  the  discourses  delivered  by  the 
holy  Fathers.  These  were  simple  homilies,  or,  cateche- 
tical instructions.  This  style  of  preaching*  does  not 
require  the  same  amount  of  order  and  precision  as  the 
more  formal  discourses  which  are  so  generally  delivered 
now-a-days.  But,  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose,  that 
even  this  kind  of  discourse  does  not  demand  careful 
preparation,  more  perhaps  than  it  frequently  receives ; 
and  the  preacher  will  do  well  to  bear  in  mind  that,  so 
far  from  being  exempted  from  this  preparation  by  the 
fact  that  his  audience  may  be  composed  of  ignorant  and 
unlettered  persons,  he  will,  on  this  very  account,  be 
doubly  bound  to  secure  order  and  precision  in  his  re- 
marks, since,  the  more  ignorant  people  are,  the  more 
difficulty  they  have  in  comprehending  anything  that  is 
not    laid    before   them   in   the   clearest   and   plainest 


■K-  II 


The  Pastor  and  His  People."     Part  ii.,  chap.  ii. 


72  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

manner.  For  ordinary  clergymen,  with  ordinary  abili- 
ties and  practice,  there  is  only  one  way  of  securing  this 
precious  clearness  and  definiteness  of  speech,  and  that 
is  by  careful  study  and  preparation. 

Let  us  repeat,  then,  once  more,  that  a  most  important 
point  in  the  preparation  of  a  sermon,  and,  above  all, 
of  an  extemporary  sermon,  is  the  arrangement  of  our 
matter,  the  "  utilis  distributio  rerum  ac  partium  in  lo- 
cos," as  Quintilian  calls  it.*  Let  us  repeat,  too,  that  by 
the  '^  res,"  of  which  there  is  here  question,  we  understand 
the  leading  idea  of  the  discourse,  as  well  as  those  great 
primary  thoughts  which  are  to  dominate  and  govern  it, 
those  distinguishing  features  which  will  give  its  own 
proper  character  to  the  commencement,  the  body,  and 
the  conclusion  of  a  sermon.  So  long  as  this  end  is  se- 
cured ;  so  long  as  the  substance  of  his  discourse  stands 
forth  sharp,  clear,  and  well-defined,  before  the  mind's 
eye  of  the  preacher ;  so  long  as  each  member  is  seen  to 
be  in  its  own  proper  place,  fulfilling  its  own  proper 
function,  and  lending  its  own  degree  of  strength  to  the 
body  of  which  it  forms  a  part ;  so  long  as  that  body 
itself  presents  a  compact,  graceful,  and  perfect  contour 
to  the  gaze  of  him  who  has  fashioned  it  and  brought  it 
into  life;  it  matters  but  little  by  what  means,  or  in  " 

*  Lib.  vii.  cap.  L 


NECESSITY  OF  ARRANGEMENT.  73 

accordance  with  what  method,  this  result  is  obtained, 
and  each  one  will  do  well  to  follow  to  a  considerable 
extent,  although  with  due  prudence  and  discretion,  the 
bent  of  his  own  taste  and  the  promptings  of  his  own 
genius  on  this  point. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  TWO  GREAT  METHODS  OF  PRESENTING  A  SUBJECT — 
BY  "PLAN,"  OR  BY  "  VIEW " — OBVIOUS  DANGER  OF 
THE  "FORMAL  PLAN" — METHOD  OF  PROCEEDING  BY 
"  VIEW  " — LACORDAIRE — THIS  METHOD  IS  NOT  SUITED 
TO   MEN   OF   ORDINARY   TALENTS — SUPERIOR   ADVAN- 


TAGES  OF   THE   "PLAN 


j> 


LL  possible  methods  or  forms  of  arranging  our 
matter  eventually  resolve  themselves  into  two, 
and  these  we  shall  now  briefly  consider. 

The  more  common  and  ordinary  method  of  arranging 
our  matter  consists  in  the  formation  of  a  formal  plan 
of  the  discourse  which  we  propose  to  deliver — a  plan 
which,  whilst  it  will  carefully  avoid  all  undue  formality 
or  pedantic  stiffness,  will,  nevertheless,  arrange  every- 
thing in  its  own  proper  place,  will  have  the  ideas  of  its 
introduction,  its  proposition,  its  arguments,  exempli- 
fications, and  the  broad  details  of  the  appeals  to  be 
addressed  to  the  passions  of  the  hearers,  so  clearly 
and  definitely  marked  out  as  to  provide  the  preacher 
with  a  shapely,  compact,  and  well-knit  skeleton  on  which 


HOW  TO  ARRANGE  OUR  MATTER.        75 

the  mind's  eye  may  rest  without  risk  of  mistaking  one 
member  for  another,  or  confusing  the  whole.  There  is 
no  need  to  speak  of  the  confidence  and  absolute  sense 
of  security  which  the  possession  of  such  a  skeleton  im- 
parts to  the  preacher;  and  hence  it  is  little  wonder 
to  find  that  this  method  of  arranging  the  matter  of  a 
discourse  is  the  one  which  has  ever  been  most  sfene- 
rally  followed.  And,  as  we  have  said  in  another  place,* 
this  method  is  equally  useful,  whether  we  propose  to 
write  our  sermon  or  to  preach  extempore;  or,  rather, 
whilst  it  is  almost  indispensable  to  him  who  writes, 
it  is,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  absolutely  so  to  him 
who  extemporises.  Amongst  the  moderns,  Bourdaloue 
and  Massillon,  although  cultivators  of  the  more  formal 
style  which  supposes  careful  writing  and  delivery  from 
memory,  and,  in  no  sense  of  the  word,  extemporary 
preachers,  are  remarkable  for  the  beauty  and  j)erfec- 
tion  of  their  plans.  Massillon's  sermons,  "  Sur  la  Verity 
de  la  Religion,"  and  "  Sur  la  Passion,"  as  well  a,s  Bourda- 
loue's  discourse,  "  Sur  la  Loi  Chretienne,"  are  striking- 
examples  of  this,  and  worthy  of  the  most  careful  study 
by  every  one  who  desires  to  see  for  himself  how  per- 
fectly order,  clearness,  and  definiteness  of  aim  may 
be  secured  without  running  to  the  extreme  of  stiffness- 
and  pedantry. 

*  "  Sacred  Eloquence." 


7(>  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

For,  it  is  pretty  evident,  that  the  great  danger  which 
awaits  those  who  habitually  make  careful  plans  or  ske- 
letons of  their  sermons,  and  who  learn  to  lean  very 
much  upon  these  plans,  is  that   of  stiffness  and  for- 
mality.   Such  preachers  run  a  great  risk  of  always  com- 
posing their  discourses  in  precisely  the  same  manner, 
and  that  manner  a  very  imperfect  one.     In  fact,  the 
sermon  writers  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies, as  well  as  some   of  earlier  times,  often  carried 
formality  and  mere  method  to  such  an  excess  in  the 
arrangement  of  their  discourses,  that  there  has  arisen  a 
very  decided,  and,  under  the  circumstances,  not  unna- 
tural reaction ;  and  now-a-days,  men,  discarding  what 
they  call  formality  and  pedantry,  are  all  in  favour  of 
taking  "  broad  views  "  of  their  subject ;  a  method  which, 
if  not  always  successful  in  its  results,  possesses  at  least 
the  charm  of  novelty,  and  saves  a  preacher  a  great  deal 
of  time  and  labour. 

Lacordaire  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  advo- 
cates and  disciples  of  this  new  method ;  and  his  peculiar 
system,  as  well  as  the  general  •  bearings  of  the  whole 
case,  are  so  lucidly  stated  in  an  admirable  article  in  a 
recent  number  of  the  Publiji  Review,*  that,  without 

*  DubHn  Review,  Oct.,  1870.  "I^acordaire  and  the  Con- 
ferences." 


HOW  TO  ARRANGE   OUR  MATTER.  77 

thereby  endorsing  or  fully  identifying  ourselves  with 
the  writer's  views  on  this  particular  point,  we  shall 
quote  somewhat  copiously  from  the  article  in  ques- 
tion : — 

"  Perhaps  there  is  nothing,"  he  says,  writing  of  La- 
cordaire,  "  in  which  he  innovated  so  much,  at  least  in 
the  French  pulpit,  as  in  his  manner  of  reasoning  by 
*  views.'     The  scholastic  way  was  to  take  a  question, 
choose  a  side,  and  heap  up  arguments  to  prove  the  con- 
clusion.    The  way  of  the  ponderous  sermon- writers  of 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  was  radically 
the  same^  except  that  their  proofs  were  often  distorted 
by  fantasy,  bloated  by  impertinent  matter,  and  nearly 
always  overloaded  with  what,  in  small  quantities,  might 
have  been  tolerable.     The  great  French  preachers  (per- 
haps S.  Francis  of  Sales  first  set  the  example  of  short 
sermons  at  his  epoch)  cut  down  the  huge  growths  of 
their  predecessors,  and  made  preaching  an  art.     They 
preserved  the  method  of  the  '  thesis/  but  they  added 
the  graces  of  artistic  imagery,  and  they  showed  the 
world  what  was  meant  by  *  style.'     They  unfortunately 
succeeded  too  well.     They  created  what  must  always 
be  one  of  the  drawbacks  of  excellent  art — they  created 
a  'groove'  for  their  successors.     A  groove  is  composed 
of  the  accidental  and  secondary  attributes  of  a  great 
school  of  art      Every  educated  reader  has  an  acquaint- 


78  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

ance  with  French  sermons.  Every  one  knows  numbers 
of  them  that  are  undeniably  well  written,  learned,  just, 
and  polished.  But  there  is  hardly  any  one  who  has  not 
been  repelled  by  a  certain  uniformity,  a  kind  of  regi- 
mental '  set-up,'  that  seems  to  strangle  the  life  out  of 
them.  It  was  a  great  change  when  Lacordaire  dis- 
pensed with  proposition  and  proof,  and  began  to  develop 
'  views.'  A  view  is  a  truth  taken  up  in  a  novel  light, 
and  carefully  placed  before  the  mental  eye  of  the 
hearer,  with  all  the  clearness  and  brilliancy  that  can  be 
given  by  artistic  analysis,  development,  and  illustration. 
In  Lacordaire,  the  view  by  no  means  shuts  oiit  reason- 
ing. On  the  contrary,  there  is  no  word  which  he  uses 
more  frequently  than  demonstration.'  But  the  reason- 
ing is  the  hidden  thread  on  which  the  jewels  are  strung. 
Major  and  minor,  antecedent  and  parallel,  are  no  longer 
like  the  straight-sawn  beams  that  a  carjDenter  brings  to 
build  his  shed  for  humanity  to  shelter  in;  but  fresh 
boughs,  with  the  leaves  green  and  the  fruit  unplucked, 
that  an  artist  masses  into  bowers  of  beauty.  An  essen- 
tial of  a  '  view '  is  novelty.  If  a  view  is  old  or  trite,  it 
is  not  to  be  called  a  view,  for  it  cannot  impress  the 
sense  of  the  hearer.  And  Lacordaire  was  fortunate  in 
novelty,  and  as  bold  as  he  was  fortunate." 

The  able  writer  whom  we  have  here  quoted  has  put 
the  case,  about  as  strongly  as  it  can  be  put,  against  the 


HOW  TO  AERANGE  OUR  MATTER.  79 

old  and  more  common  method  of  arranging  the  matter 
of  a  sermon  by  means  of  a  methodical  plan  to  be  care- 
fully worked  out.  But  he  has  said  nothing  of  the  ob- 
vious dangers  which  beset  this  new-fashioned  method 
of  "  taking  a  view,"  nor  of  the  excesses  in  this  direction 
which  have  already  called  forth  the  reprobation  of  some 
of  the  ablest  modern  writers  on  sacred  eloquence. 

As  the  Abbe  Bautain*  says  so  well,  although  for- 
merly the  fault  lay  in  the  excess  of  the  dialectical  turn 
by  which  men  did  much  to  spoil  their  sty  leby  dryness, 
heaviness,  and  an  appearance  of  pedantry,  still  they 
knew  how  to  state  a  question,  and  how  to  treat  it. 
They  knew  at  which  end  to  begin  it  in  order  to  develop 
it;  and  the  line   of  argument  which   they  distinctly 
marked  out  had  at  least  the  merit  of  leading:  straiofht 
to  the  object  and  to  its  conclusion.     The  fault  now-a- 
days,"  he  continues,  "  lies  in  the  absence  or  deficiency 
of  all  method.     Although  they  may  understand  it  well 
enough,  men  remain  a  long  time  before  their  subject 
without  knowing  how  to  begin  it.     This  leads  to  inter- 
minable preparations,  to  desultory  introductions,  to  con- 
fused expositions,  to  developments  as  vague  as  they  are 
disorderly,  and,  finally,  to  no  conclusion,  or,  at  least,  to 
no  conclusion  that  is  practical  or  decisive.     Nearly  all 

*  "  Extemporary  Speaking."     By  M.  Bautain. 


80  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

the  barriers,"  he  proceeds,  "which  supported  and  di- 
rected human  activity  having  been  removed,  liberty 
has  become  disorder,  men  leave  the  beaten  track  to 
walk,  as  they  imagine,  more  at  their  ease;  and,  so  far 
from  gaining  by  it,  they  lose  much  of  their  time  and 
their  strength  in  seeking  paths  which  they  would  have 
found  from  the  first  if  they  could  have  submitted  them- 
selves to  discipline,  and  allowed  themselves  to  be 
guided.  Aspiring  to  think  in  their  own  fashion,  or 
aiming  at  originality,  they  think  at  random,  and  just 
as  ideas  happen  to  come  to  them.  The  result  is,  for 
the  most  part,  vagueness,  oddity,  and  confusion.  Now- 
a-days  everybody  seeks  to  speak  of  everything,  and  the 
natural  result  is,  that,  amid  this  torrent  of  divergent 
or  irreconcilable  words,  the  minds  of  men  are  tossed  to 
and  fro,  without  a  notion  whither  they  are  going,  just- 
as  the  wind  blows,  or  the  current  of  the  moment  drives 
them." 

The  Abb^  Mullois*  is  equally  emphatic  on  this  point, 
"  It  is  all  well  enough,"  he  says,  "  that  a  few  eminent 
men  should  treat  select  questions  before  select  au- 
diences ;  but  now  everyone  seems  bent  on  talking  phi- 
losophy, or  on  philosophizing  about  everything.  We 
have  the  philosophy  of  theology,  the  philosophy  of  the 

*  "  Cours  d'Eloquence  Sacr^e." 


HOW  TO  ARRANGE  OUR  MATTER.  81 

sacraments,  the  philosophy  of  the  liturgy:  and  to  what 
does  it  all  tend  ?  To  prove  that  God  might  have  occu- 
pied a  prominent  place  among  the  thinkers  of  these 
times;  which  would  be  proving  very  little  in  God's 
favour." 

And,  after  all,  how  many  men  are  there  whose  ac- 
quirements, self-control,  strong  common  sense,  and  ready 
but  disciplined  powers  of  speech,  fit  them  "to  take 
views  "1      A   Lacordaire    may,   perhaps,  safely  adopt 
such  a  style   of  preaching ;   but  how  many  men  are 
there  who  can  safely  afford  to  follow  his  example  ?    The 
old-fashioned  method  of  working  out  a  set  plan  has 
undoubtedly  its  drawbacks.     Unless  managed  with  pru- 
dence and  discretion,  it  is  very  apt  to  end  in  stiffness 
and  tiresome  formality ;  but  even  while  labouring  under 
this  defect  (which  is  by  no  means  inherent  or  necessary 
to  a  plan),  it  still  possesses  one  great  and  distinguishing 
prerogative :  it  enables  a  man  to  state  a  question,  helps 
him  to  develop  it,  and,  almost  as  a  matter  of  necessity, 
and  a  very  happy  one,  keeps  him  to  the  point.     This 
"keeping  to  the  point"  is  surely  a  great  thing  in  a 
sermon ;  perhaps  it  is  nearly  everything  so  far  as  ordi- 
nary congregations  are  concerned;  but  of  how  many 
preachers   who   "  take   views "  can  it  be  predicated  ? 
What  is  novelty,  novelty  even   of  the  most  striking 
kind,  in  comparison  with  it  ?    The  strength  of  a  sermon 


82  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

does  not  consist  in  brilliant  but  disconnected  ideas — in 
startling,  but,  most  likely,  vague  and  unpractical  pro- 
positions.    The  discourse  of  the  man,  certainly  of  the 
ordinary  man,   who  attempts    to  advance  by  way  of 
"  view,"  is  almost  sure  to  be  fragmentary  and  discon- 
nected.    It  is  possible  that  these  fragmentary  members 
may  be  elegant,  and  even  striking,  in  themselves ;  but, 
from  the  very  fact  that  they  are  thus  disconnected  and 
fragmentary,  they  will  never  constitute   really  strong 
preaching,  since  the  real  strength  of  a  sermon  lies  in 
the  intimate  relation,  and  the  perfect  agreement,  of  one 
part  to  another  and  to  the  whole.     The  composition  of 
the  ordinary  man — for  we  repeat  once  more  that  we  do 
not  lay  down  rules  for  a  Lacordaire  or  a  Felix — who 
proposes  to  himself  to  "  take  views,"  is  almost  certain 
to  lack  that  strict  and  logical  sequence  of  ideas,  of 
proofs,  and  of  arguments,  without  which,  resting  upon 
the  authority  of  St.  Augustine,*  we  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying  that  a  sermon  is  essentially  faulty.     Such  a 
preacher  is  as  likely  as  not  to  say  at  the  commencement 
of  his  discourse  that  which  he  should  have  reserved  for 
the  conclusion.    Arguments  depend  for  their  effect  upon 
the  strict  order  and  coherence  which  exists  between 
them.     The  arguments  of  a  man  who  does  not  clearly 


* 


I.  Epis.,  xviii. 


HOW  TO  ARRANGE  OUR  MATTER.        83 

see  either  the  point  from  which  he  starts,  or  that  to 
which  he  travels,  who  is  carried  away  by  every  passing 
impulse,  who  is  much  more  anxious  to  be  novel  and 
startling  than  simple  and  practical,  are  nearly  certain, 
to  lack  this  order  and  coherence,  and,  lacking  this,  to  be 
without  vio^our  or  strensfth. 

We  do  not,  of  course,  mean  to  assert  that  the  man 
who  theorizes,  who  takes  new  and  startling  views  of 
things,  may  not  preserve  order  and  logical  sequence  of 
ideas  in  his  discourse.  No  doubt  Lacordaire  was  orderly 
and  logical.  But,  we  do  believe  most  emphatically,  that 
more  ordinary  men,  men  with  fewer  natural  qualifica- 
tions, men  with  more  limited  powers  of  thought,  and 
more  circumscribed  opportunities  of  exercising  those 
powers,  will  fail  to  secure  these  essential  conditions,  not 
only  of  really  good,  but  even  of  tolerable  speaking,  if 
they  attempt  to  travel  by  the  same  paths. 

By  all  means  then,  when,  once  in  a  generation,  a 
Lacordaire  makes  his  appearance  in  the  world,  let  him 
take  his  own  way,  and  follow  the  bent  of  his  own  tower- 
ing genius.  Such  a  man  is  a  born  orator,  and,  like  the 
poet,  he  is  to  be  trammelled  by  no  ordinary  rules; 
although,  it  may  be,  that  men,  neither  inferior  in  talent 
nor  attainments,  such  as  Massillon,  have  not  disdained  to 
raise  the  loftiest  and  most  enduring  monuments  of  their 
genius  upon  the  foundation  of  these  very  same  rules. 


84  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

When  a  man  like  Lacordaire  is  called  to  preacli  to 
indifferent  or  unbelieving  Frenchmen,  the  method  by 
which  they  are  to  be  attracted  and  retained  to  listen  to 
the  truth  may  safely  be  left  to  the  inspirations  of  his 
own  great  intellect ;  and  we  may  content  ourselves  with 
the  expression  of  our  gratitude  that  a  man  could  be 
found  with  a  genius  to  devise,  and  a  tongue  to  deve- 
lop, such  a  grand  scheme  of  displaying  the  great  truths 
of  religion  and  morality,  as  should  not  only  attract  an 
audience,  so  exceptional  and  so  strangely  composed,  by 
its  novelty  and  its  brilliant  treatment,  but,  also  win,  at 
least  some  of  them,  to  the  service  of  God,  by  its  earnest- 
ness and  its  loving  zeal. 

But,  it  by  no  means  follows,  that  we  should  recom- 
mend ordinary  men,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  to  adopt, 
or  even  to  attempt  to  cultivate,  the  same  style  of  preach- 
ing. Such  men  must  rely  for  their  success  upon  a  sim- 
ple and  instructive  style :  upon  expression  becoming 
him  who  speaks  :  upon  doctrine  sound  in  its  source  and 
logical  in  its  form  :  and  above  all,  upon  instruction  ex- 
actly adapted  to  the  intelligence  of  the  people,  and 
calculated  to  promote  in  the  most  efficacious  manner 
the  correction  of  vice,  as  well  as  the  development  and 
advancement  of  solid  virtue,  amongst  our  hearers. 

We  believe  that  these  results  will  rarely,  if  ever,  be 
secured  by  an  ordinary  speaker  in  any  other  way  than 


HOW  TO  ARRANGE  OUR  MATTER.  85 

by  means  of  a  well-conceived,  a  deeply-pondered,  and  a 
carefully -elaborated  plan.  Fully  impressed  by  this 
idea,  and  firmly  believing  that  this  is  the  only  method 
of  preparing  and  arranging  his  matter  which  we  can 
venture  practically  to  recommend  to  the  young  preacher, 
we  shall  now  proceed  to  consider  the  leading  qualities 
of  such  a  plan,  and  the  principal  defects  to  be  avoided 
in  its  construction. 


■ '    "    '  ■    " '    "     ' 11     ! !    r 


'■    ■  ■     "    **    "     "    ■■    ' "■     ■■    «■    ^ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PLAN  OF  A  DISCOUKSE — GENERAL  OBJECT  OF  THE  PLAN 
AND  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  DISCOURSE — WHAT  THE 
EDUCATED  LAITY  SAY  OF  THE  ELOQUENCE  OF  THE 
PULPIT. 


EFOR.E  proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  the 
actual  arrangement  of  the  plan  of  a  discourse, 
its  leading  qualities,  and  its  principal  defects,  the  young 
preacher  -will  do  well  to  review,  yet  once  more,  his 
knowledge  and  thorough  appreciation  of  one  or  two  of 
the  primary  ideas  which  must  be  carefully  kept  in  view 
while  studying  this  important  matter. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  let  him  remember  that  a  ser- 
mon is  something  Tuore  than  a  mere  collection  of  dis- 
connected thoughts,  sentiments,  or  ideas,  however  touch- 
ing or  beautiful  in  themselves,  upon  a  given  subject; 
that  it  is  a  logical  and  closely  reasoned  discourse,  having 
for  its  object  the  establishment  and  sustainment  of  one 
great  leading  practical  truth,  and  employing  for  this 
end  certain  arguments,  illustrations,  and  appeals  which, 


THE  PLAN  OF  THE  DISCOURSE.  87 

though  tliey  may  differ  from  one  another,  will  be  so 
closely  welded  and  linked  together  by  one  great  chain 
of  coherent  unity  as  to  contribute,  in  the  strongest  pos- 
sible manner,  to  the  common  end. 

Let  him,  in  the  second  place,  remember  that  his  ser- 
mon will  be  nothing  more  than  the  development  of  one 
great  leading  practical  truth,  and  that  this  truth,  em- 
bodied in  a  plain  practical  proposition,  to  be  enunciated 
more  or  less  formally  as  circumstances  may  require  or 
suggest,  will  thus  form  the  foundation  of  his  discourse. 

Let  him  remember,  thirdly,  that,  whilst  the  leading 
truth  or  idea  to  be  presented  will  be  essentially  one, 
it  may,  and  perhaps  ought,  be  presented  to  his  au- 
dience under  various  points  of  view ;  as  when  we  prove 
the  obligation  of  loving  God  from  the  threefold  argu- 
ment that  He  is  our  Creator,  our  Preserver,  and  our 
Redeemer.  Let  him  remember,  that,  although  these 
two  or  three  leading  arguments,  or  points  of  view, 
which  will  form  the  parts  of  his  discourse,  are,  in  them- 
selves, in  one  sense,  general  propositions,  inasmuch  as 
they  supply  the  foundation  of  special  arguments  and 
oratorical  developments,  they  are,  at  the  same  time, 
on  account  of  the  strict  coherence  and  connection  which 
exists  between  them  and  the  subject,  resolved  or  merged 
in  another  proposition  which  is  still  more  general,  viz., 
that  of  the  discourse  itself. 


88  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

With  these  leading  ideas  of  the  nature  of  a  sermon 
clearly  before  our  mind,  let  us  now  proceed  to  consider 
how  we  may  arrange  the  matter  of  our  discourse  most 
effectively,  and  with  the  greatest  practical  result,  by 
means  of  a  careful  and  well  devised  plan. 

At  the  moment  when  we  have,  whether  it  be  directly 
or  indirectly,  conceived  our  subject,  that  subject  stands 
out  before  us  in  one  sense  clearly,  in  another  sense 
enveloped  in  a  certain  amount  of  obscurity. 

We  see  clearly,  and  with  the  utmost  distinctness,  the 
one  great  leading  idea,  the  one  plain  practical  truth, 
which  is  to  be  carried  home  to  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
our  hearers.  We  see,  too — although  perhaps  not  quite 
so  clearly — that  the  matter  with  which  our  course  of 
reading  has  supplied  us,  the  arguments,  comparisons, 
illustrations,  and  sympathetic  appeals,  which  have  been 
carefully  recorded  in  our  notes,  range  themselves  natu- 
rally and  instinctively,  so  to  speak,  under  two  or  three 
great  leading  heads.  In  other  words,  that  they  are 
referrible  either  to  Sacred  Scripture,  to  theology,  or  to 
reason  and  experience,  but  that,  inasmuch  as  they 
have  not  yet  been  referred  to  their  own  proper  heading, 
or  put  in  their  ov>^n  proper  place,  a  certain  disorder  and 
confusion,  resulting  in  obscurity,  exists  amongst  them. 
And  it  is  the  precise  object  of  the  plan  of  the  discourse 
to  get  rid  of  this  obscurity  by  thus  putting  everything 


THE   PLAN   OF  THE  DISCOURSE.  89 

in  its  own  place ;  so  that,  when  we  ascend  the  pulpit 
to  extemporise,  we  may  carry  in  our  mind  a  clear  and 
sharply  defined  skeleton  of  the  discourse  which  we  in- 
tend to  deliver — a  well  regulated  plan  which  shall  at 
once  lend  that  strength  to  our  composition  which  ever 
springs  from  order  and  logical  sequence  of  ideas,  and 
that  confidence  to  ourselves  which  is  never  wanting  to 
any  man  who  speaks  with  the  conscious  knowledge 
that  he  has  something  to  say,  something  worth  say- 
ing, and  that  he  not  only  knows  what  he  is  about  to 
say,  but  also  hoiv  he  intends  to  say  it;  or,  in  other 
words,  the  order  and  connection  of  his  discourse — of 
one  part  with  another  and  with  the  whole. 

From  all  this,  then,  it  follows  plainly  enough  that  by 
the  plan  of  a  discourse  we  understand  the  "  utilis  dis- 
tributio  partium  in  locos,"  or,  to  use  the  definition  of 
an  eminent  writer  on  this  subject,  the  order  of  the  things 
which  have  to  he  unfolded.  The  "  partes,"  the  "  things,' 
already  exist  in  our  notes,  or  in  our  memory.  But  they 
exist,  as  we  have  just  seen,  in  a  more  or  less  confused 
mass,  and  enveloped  with  more  or  less  of  obscurity. 
And  it  is  the  purpose  and  object  of  the  plan  to  arrange 
them  in  that  order  in  which  they  are  to  be  unfolded. 
In  other  words  :  by  the  arrangement  of  the  plan  of  our 
discourse  is  simply  understood  the  taking  of  our  pen  in 
hand,  and,  with  the  principles  presently  to  be  enun- 


90  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

ciated  clearly  before  our  minds,  the  orderly  arrangement 
of  the  materials  of  our  discourse  under  one,  two,  or 
three,  great  leading  heads. 

No  doubt,  all  this  appears  very  formal  and  pedantic 
on  paper,  but  there  is  no  necessity  that,  in  its  practical 
application,  this  orderly  arrangement  of  our  matter 
need  partake  in  the  least  degree  of  these  qualities. 
General  principles,  if  clearly  and  definitely  stated, 
nearly  always  appear  stiff  and  formal  in  theory.  Gene- 
ral principles  may  be  reduced  to  practice  and  employed 
with  perfect  ease,  freedom,  and  grace. 

And  let  the  young  preacher  be  perfectly  certain  that, 
as  we  have  already  said,  the  necessity  of  order  in  his 
discourse  is  simply  absolute.  It  is  a  necessity  which 
he  can  afford  neither  to  overlook  nor  to  neglect.  No 
matter  how  beautiful  or  how  carefully  composed  the 
various  members  of  his  discourse  may  be,  they  will, 
unless  connected  by'  a  methodical  and  well  devised 
plan,  no  more  constitute  a  practical  and  useful  sermon 
than  wood  and  stones  suffice  to  build  a  house  until  they 
are  arranged  and  placed  in  order  according  to  the  plan 
of  the  architect.  Many  preachers  fail.  Some  cover 
themselves  with  a  shame  and  confusion,  which  is  only 
surpassed  by  that  of  true  and  earnest  friends  who 
wished  them  well,  but  who  are  obliged  to  witness  their 
discomfiture.    Few  succeed  perfectly.    And  how  is  this  ? 


THE  PLAN  OF  THE  DISCOURSE.  91 

Is  it  from  want  of  talent,  poverty  of  matter,  or  defects 
of  style  and  delivery  ?     We  venture  to  say  that,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  failure  is  to  be  attributed  to  none  of 
these  causes,  so  much  as  to  the  want  of  order  and 
method,  and  the  consequent  absence  of  any  definite 
end,  aim,  or  object.     It  is  too  true  that,  in  many  of  the 
discourses  to  which  we  listen,  the  preacher,  as  Whately 
sarcastically  remarked,  aims  at   nothing,  and  hits  it. 
It  is  said  often  enough,  and  men  of  the  world  say  it 
openly,  without  any  attempt  to  conceal  their  senti- 
ments on  the  matter,  that  there  is  too  much  preaching, 
such  as  it  is,  now-a-days.     Now,  we  are  not  disposed  to 
attach  undue  importance  to  what  the  educated  laity,  as 
they  are  called,  say  on  these  matters;  for,  as  it  has 
been  well  observed,*  "  many  men  do  not  care  for  ser- 
mons, or  dislike  them,  because  of  their  distaste  in  gene- 
ral for  spiritual  things.     They  are  without  real  interest 
in  the  subject  itself,  and,  hence,  they  pervert  the  use  of 
sermons,  looking  upon   them,  as  they  do,  altogether 
from  a  wrong  point  of  view.     Lacking  interest  in  the 
subject,  they  turn  their  attention  upon  the  manner, 
rather  than  the  matter,  of  the  discourse;  they  look 
upon  the  discourse  as  if  it  were  intended  to  be,  not 
speaking  to  the  point  on  a  practical  subject,  but  a  dis- 
play of  eloquence  and  artistic  skill.     If  the  style  of  the 
*  "Dublin  Keview,"  vol.  xxxvi. 


92  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

I 

preaclier,  his  language,  or  action,  dissatisfies  them,  these 
men  are  dissatisfied  with  the  sermon,  because  this  is 
their  idea  of  a  sermon.  They  come  away,  and  the  re- 
flections they  make  are  not  on  the  subject  of  the  dis- 
course—  this  escapes  their  notice  —  but  simply  and 
entirely  on  the  skill  of  the  preacher."  But,  whilst  we 
take  the  opinion  of  these  people  simply  for  what  it  is 
worth,  may  we  not,  at  the  same  time,  fairly  ask  whether 
they  are  altogether  wrong  ?  What  is  the  use  of  preach- 
ing unless  it  secure  some  object  and  gain  some  practi- 
cal end,  an  end  altogether  different  from  the  mere 
discharge  of  a  duty  by  routine,  or  the  filling  up  of  a 
certain  space  of  time?  And,  yet,  is  it  altogether  very 
wild,  or  very  uncharitable,  to  assert  that  there  are  ser- 
mons which  seem  to  have  no  other  end  or  object  than 
this  ?  Does  the  Pere  Albert  speak  the  truth  when  he 
says  that  there  are  few  preachers  now-a-days  who  ever 
convert  a  sinner,  simply  because  there  are  few  who  ever 
propose  to  themselves  to  do  anything  of  the  kind  ?  Is 
it  true,  as  he  adds,  that  most  preachers  would  be  very 
much  astonished  if  you  informed  them  that  one  of  their 
sermons  had  produced  any  such  result  ?  Is  it  true  that 
men  are  frequently  so  taken  up  with  the  merely  tech- 
nical part  of  this  important  duty  as  to  lose  sight  of  the 
end  and  object  of  every  good  discourse,  which  is  the 
instruction  of  our  hearers,  and  the  eiBfectual  moving  of 
them  to  amend  their  lives  ? 


THE  PLAN  OF  THE  DISCOURSE.  93 

If  these  things  be  true  in  any  measure  or  degree, 
and  we  do  not  presume  to  assert  that  they  are,  it  is 
little  wonder  that  preachers  should  lose  sight  of  order 
and  definiteness  of  aim  in  their  discourses ;  but  it  is 
less  wonder  stiJl  that  such  discourses  should  be  without 
profit  and  result,  or  that  the  educated  laity  should 
daily  grow  more  and  more  impatient  of  the  teaching  of 
the  pulpit. 

Let  us,  then,  repeat  once  more,  that  if  we  would 
avoid  failure,  if  we  would  secure  our  preaching  from  the 
adverse  criticism  of  the  educated  laity  —  matters  of 
comparatively  little  importance  in  themselves — if  we 
would  save  souls  by  our  preaching,  and  do  the  work  of 
God  as  it  ought  to  be  done — a  matter  of  very  great 
importance — we  must  preach  with  order  and  method  ; 
and  that  a  young  preacher  will  hardly  secure  this  order 
and  method  in  any  other  way  than  by  taking  his  pen 
in  his  hand  and  drawing  up  a  plan  or  sketch  of  the 
discourse  which  he  proposes  to  deliver.  In  no  other 
way  will  he  secure  these  most  desirable  results  with 
equal  ease  and  success. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PLAN  OF  A  DISCOURSE  THE  FRUIT  OF  DEEP 
THOUGHT  AND  OF  MUCH  REFLECTION — ESSENTIAL 
PROPERTIES  OF  A  GOOD  PLAN — ITS  INFLUENCE  ON 
SUCCESS. 


S  we  have  sufficiently  demonstrated  in  the  pre- 
ceding sections  the  absolute  necessity  of  order 
and  arrangement  in  every  practically  good  discourse, 
and  shown  that  ordinary  men,  in  ordinary  circum- 
stances, will  hardly  secure  this  desirable  result  in 
any  other  way  than  by  means  of  a  clear  and  well 
digested  plan,  it  follows  as  a  natural  consequence,  that 
we  now^  proceed  to  make  some  inquiry  into  the  nature 
and  essential  qualities  of  such  a  plan. 

The  plan  of  a  preacher  holds  precisely  the  same  re- 
lation to  the  sermon  which  he  proposes  to  preach  as 
the  plan  of  the  architect  holds  to  the  edifice  which  he 
proposes  to  erect.  Seizing  the  subject  in  its  fruitful 
unity  and  in  all  its  varied  relations,  a  plan  thus  em- 


ESSENTIAL  PROPERTIES    OF  A  PLAN.  95 

braces  it,  whole,  entire,  and  complete,  in  one  grand 
coup-d'oeil.  If  the  plan  of  a  discourse  does  not  enable 
its  author,  or  any  intelligent  observer,  to  perceive  with 
one  ready  glance  the  idea  to  be  realized,  and  the  means 
for  its  realization,  just  as  clearly  as  the  plan  of  a 
material  edifice  enables  the  architect  to  do  the  same  in 
his  own  way  and  from  his  own  point  of  view,  it  is  a 
failure.  And  from  this  idea  of  it  the  reader  will  see  at 
once  the  nature,  the  utility,  and  the  difficulty  of  form- 
ing such  a  plan. 

Of  its  utility  we  have  already  said  enough,  at  least 
by  implication.  Of  its  nature  we  shall  presently  speak 
more  at  length.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  say,  in  the 
first  place,  a  few  words  of  the  difficulty  which  the  young 
preacher  may  find  in  forming  his  plan  according  to  the 
ideas  just  thrown  out. 

We  have  said  above  that  a  good  plan,  seizing  the  sub- 
ject in  its  fruitful  unity  and  its  varied  relations,  ena- 
bles the  preacher  to  embrace  that  subject,  wholly, 
entirely,  and  completely,  in  one  grand  coup-d'oeil.  But 
is  it  not  plain  that,  although  the  difficulty  will  decrease 
with  each  succeeding  effort  which  we  may  make,  it  will 
not  be  so  very  easy  in  the  beginning  to  sketch  such  a 
plan  as  this.  For  it  undoubtedly  requires  considerable 
grasp  of  mind,  mental  vigour,  and  practical  experience, 
thus  to  be  able  to  embrace  at  one  quick  glance,  a  sub- 


96  EXTEMPORAKY  PREACHING. 

ject  in  its  entirety,  and  its  relations.  This  faculty  will 
most  surely  come,  and  very  quickly  too,  to  him  who 
sedulously  cultivates  it ;  but  it  will  not  come  without 
much  careful  and  persevering  cultivation.  As  BufFon 
remarks,  we  only  arrive  at  this  point  after  long  habits 
of  thought  and  reflection.  And  if  many  men  never 
arrive  at  this  point — if  many  men  never  acquire  the 
invaluable  faculty  of  analyzing  and  throwing  matter 
into  shape  and  order — it  is  because  they  never  cultivate 
it.  And  in  the  fact  that  many  men  either  do  not 
appreciate,  or  do  not  cultivate  this  faculty,  Girard  finds 
the  explanation  of  another  fact,  viz.,  that,  although  we 
meet  many  orators  who  can  treat  us  to  delicious  and 
sparkling  morsels,  and  who  work  out  fragmentary  de- 
tails in  a  truly  admirable  manner,  we  find  very  few 
who  are  able  to  present  us  with  a  perfect  whole.  Here 
they  fail ;  but,  failing  in  this  essential  quality,  the 
curse  of  sterility  falls  upon  their  happiest  efforts,  and 
upon  their  most  sparkling  and  brilliant  productions. 
Is  not  this  what  Horace  means  in  his  well  known 
line  ?* — 

"  Infelix  operis  summa,  quia  ponere  totum  nesciet." 

The  young  preacher  must,  then,  struggle  vigorously 
against  the  difficulty  which  he  will  find  in  his  first 

*  Art  Poet.  34. 


ESSENTIAL  PROPERTIES  OF  A   PLAN".  97 

attempts  to  grasp  his  subject  in  its  entirety,  and  to 
arransre  the  materials  of  his  discourse  in  due  order  and 
proportion.  Let  him  make  the  effort  boldly ;  let  him 
persevere  for  a  little  time ;  and  he  will  be  astonished 
how  soon  the  precious  faculty  will  come  to  him.  It 
is  the  fruit  of  labour;  above  all,  it  is  the  fruit  of  prac- 
tice.* 

BufFon  asks  the  question  how  you  are  to  teach  a 
young  preacher  to  form  the  plan  of  his  discourse ;  and 
he  answers  that  there  is  one  great  means  above  all 
others,  viz.,  the  habit  of  thought  and  reflection.  And 
what  he  says  is  true,  at  least  in  a  great  measure  and 
degree;  for,  as  almost  every  subject  will  require  to  be 
treated  in  some  special  way  and  from  some  special 
point  of  view,  it  is  evident  that  you  cannot  lay  down 
any  uniform  rule  or  method,  and  that  you  must  ulti- 
mately fall  back  upon  that  good  sense,  and  that  perfect 

*  I  may  remark  here,  since  it  has  a  very  practical  bearing 
on  this  subject,  that  I  invariably  oblige  my  pupils  to  make 
a  careful  and  accurate  synopsis  of  every  sermon  which  they 
compose  during  their  college  course.  And  I  do  this  for  two 
reasons  :  firstly,  to  give  them  great  readiness  and  facility  of 
analyzing,  and  throwing  into  shape  and  order  the  matter 
which  they  read  or  write;  and  secondly,  because  I  hope 
that  these  synopses  of  the  sermons  which  they  write  in  col- 
lege will  serve  them  as  plans  of  extemporary  discourses  for 
the  mission. — T.  J.  P. 

•     8 


98  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

taste,  whicti  are  the  precious  fruits  of  long  habits  of 
thought  and  of  much  practical  experience.  But,  at  the 
same  time,  there  are  certain  general  principles,  certain 
essential  and  inherent  qualities  of  a  plan,  the  know- 
ledge and  careful  study  of  which  will  do  much  to  assist 
the  preacher.  They  will  not  supply  him  with  the 
matter  of  his  discourse,  but  they  will  aid  him  much  to 
acquire  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  it,  as  well  in  its 
fruitful  unity  as  in  the  relations  of  the  various  parts  to 
the  whole.  This  knowledge  will  aid  most  effectually 
to  keep  him  constantly  under  the  guidance  and  the 
directing  influence  of  good  taste — that  good  taste  which 
is  one  of  the  safest  and  most  reliable  handmaids  of 
genius — which  is,  not  unfrequently,  a  more  valuable 
possession  than  genius  itself 

These  general  principles,  these  inherent  qualities, 
are,  of  course,  pure  essentials  of  the  plan  itself  They 
spring  from  its  essence,  they  help  to  explain  and  eluci- 
date its  character,  and  they  lead  us  into  a  more  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  plan  as  a  whole,  through 
our  knowledge  of  its  properties  and  fundamental  quali- 
ties. But,  their  proper  function  ceases  here,  since  they 
neither  profess  to  supply  us  with  the  substantial  matter 
of  our  discourse,  nor  with  the  tact,  discretion,  and  good 
taste,  with  which  that  discourse  is  to  be  applied  to  the 
special  necessities  and  requirements  of  our  special  au- 
dience. * 


ESSENTIAL  PROPERTIES   OF  A  PLAN.  99 

The  perfection,  then,  of  every  good  plan  will  depend 
upon  the  due  presence  of  certain  qualities,  essential  to 
the  plan  itself,  and  derivable  from  its  very  nature ;  and 
these  qualities  are  neatness  and  simplicity,  a  just  pro- 
portion, and,  above  all,  a  fruitful  unity. 

The  plan  of  a  discourse  should  be  neat — that  is,  it 
should  be  drawn  out  with  such  exactness,  and  with 
such  an  orderly  and  logical  distribution  of  all  its  parts, 
as  will  enable  its  author  to  take  in  at  a  glance  the  one 
end  to  be  gained  and  the  means  of  gaining  it.  There 
will  be  nothing  in  this  plan  which  will  be  obscure  or 
doubtful ;  no  feature  of  it  which  will  not  indicate  some- 
thing of  importance.  It  will  not  embrace  many  great 
ideas ;  but  each  idea  which  it  embraces  will,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  be  a  great  one,  and  one  which  will  con- 
tain in  itself  the  source  of  many  happy  thoughts  and  of 
many  fruitful  inspirations.  And,  as  the  plan  is,  in  the 
strictest  sense  of  the  word,  the  mere  skeleton  of  the 
sermon,  the  rough  draft  which  the  skilful  hand  of  the 
artist  traces  out  in  order  to  secure  unity  of  view  and  of 
means  before  he  begins  to  fill  in  the  rich  and  varied 
details  of  his  composition,  it  will,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
queuce,  be  simple.  It  will  admit  of  no  style  or  fine 
writing.  It  will  contain,  not  the  development  of  fine 
ideas,  but  the  skeleton  of  them.  It  will  form  the  dry 
bones — strong,  vigorous,  and  compact  as  you  will,,  but 


100  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

still  the  dry  bones,  which  the  skilful  hand  of  the  artist 
is  presently  to  clothe  with  living  flesh  and  muscle ;  and 
it  will  neither  form,  nor  aim  at  forming,  anything 
more. 

The  plan  should  be  duly  proportioned ;  that  is  to 
say,  in  sketching  the  plan  of  a  discourse  we  should 
assign  to  each  truth,  to  each  great  idea,  and  to  each 
leading  argument,  that  degree  of  prominence  which  is 
intrinsically  or  relatively  due  to  it ;  so  that  there  shall 
reign  in  the  whole  discourse  a  true  and  legitimate  con- 
cord of  its  various  parts,  one  to  another,  and  to  the 
whole. 

This  proportion  and  harmony,  which  contribute  so 
powerfully  to  the  beauty  of  a  discourse,  are  doubly 
necessary  to  him  who  extemporises.*  Unless  the  va- 
rious parts  of  his  discourse  be  duly  proportioned  before- 
hand, and  strongly  determined  and  marked  out — unless 
he  have  put  everything  in  its  own  place,  and  done  this 
with  such  neatness,  clearness,  simplicity,  and  order,  as 
never  to  lose  sight  of  the  great  leading  idea  of  his  ser- 
mon— unless  the  plan  be  so  arranged  that,  in  its  work- 
ing out,  the  development  of  each  great  thought,  and  of 
each  line  of  argument,  lead  him  back  to  this  parent 
idea — the  extemporary  preacher  runs  great  risk  of  de- 

*  Bautain. 


ESSENTIAL  PROPEETIES   OF  A  PLAN.  101 

livering  a  discourse  wliich  will  be  much  more  remark- 
able for  diffuseness,  disorder,  and  confusion,  than  for 
the  contrary  qualities.    Most  preachers,  rightly  enough, 
propose  to  divide  their  discourse  into  three  great  parts, 
viz.,  introduction,  body,  and  conclusion.    But  neglecting, 
or  being  unable,  to  proportion  these  parts  duly,  the 
result  is  a  monstrum  horrendum.     Some  spend  nearly 
the  whole  time  in  beating  about  the  bush,  in  labouring 
to  break  the  ground  and  open  up  the  subject;  and  the 
monster  which  they  create  is  known  by  his  enormous 
head.     They  never  really  get  beyond  the  introduction. 
There  are  others  who  seem  unable  to  finish — who  never 
know  when  or  how  to  wind  up ;  and  their  creation  is 
known  by  the  length  of  his  tail.     There  are  others, 
who,  forgetting  that  each  argument  or  head  of  the  dis- 
course should  be  merely  a  development  of  the  leading 
idea  of  the  whole — forgetting  that  their  secondary  pro- 
positions or  accessory  thoughts  have  no  real  utility 
except  what  they  derive  from  that  leading  idea — spend 
too  much  time,  and  dilate  too  much,  upon  those  second'- 
ary  propositions ;  and,  doing  this  at  the  cost  of  the 
parent  idea,  they  produce  an  excrescence  which  deforms 
and  mars  the  beauty  of  the  object  whence  it  has  its 
source.     In  all  these,  and  many  other  cases  of  the  like 
nature,  the  result  is  a  monster,  more  or  less  deformed 
and  out  of  due  proportion.     And  this  inconvenience  is 


102  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

only  obviated  by  that  strong  previous  determination  of 
the  various  parts  of  the  discourse  of  which  we  have  just 
spoken.  If  the  extemporary  preacher  would  avoid  be- 
cominof  the  author  of  one  of  the  oratorical  monsters 
described  above,  we  repeat  that  he  must  trace  the  plan 
of  his  sermon  with  a  firm  and  energetic  hand,  and  he 
must  arrange  its  various  parts  with  such  exactness  and 
due  proportion,  that  none  of  those  unforeseen  circum- 
stances which  so  frequently  occur  during  the  delivery 
of  an  extemporary  discourse  will  be  able  to  lead  him  so 
far  away  from  the  main  point,  and  fro'm  the  order 
which  he  has  previously  arranged,  as  to  involve  him  in 
confusion,  or  cause  him  to  develop  any  one  point  at  the 
expense  of  the  others.* 

Above  and  before  all  things  else,  a  good  plan  will 
possess  for  its  fundamental  quality  unity — a  quality 
so  essential,  that  without  it  the  greater  part  of  our 
preaching  will  be  in  vain.  "  Nothing,"  says  Dr. 
Newman,  "  is  so  fatal  to  the  effect  of  a  sermon,  as 
the  habit  of  preaching  on  three  or  four  subjects  at  once. 
I  acknowledge,"  he  continues,  "I  am  advancing  a  step 
beyond  the  practice  of  great  Catholic  preachers,  when  I 
add,  that  even  though  we  preach  on  only  one  at  a  time, 
finishing  and  dismissing  the  fir&t  before  we  go  to  the 

*  Bautain. 


ESSENTIAL   PROPERTIES   OF   A  PLAN.  103 

second,  and  the  second  before  we  go  to  the  third;  still, 
after  all,  a  practice  like  this,  though  not  open  to  the 
inconvenience  which  confusing  of  one  subject  with 
another  involves,  is  in  matter  of  fact  nothing  short  of 
the  delivery  of  three  sermons  in  succession,  without 
break  between  them."* 

To  secure,  then,  this  fundamental  quality,  the  young 
preacher  must  follow  the  advice  of  Dr.  Newman,  and 
other  eminent  writers,  on  this  matter.  He  must  place 
before  himself  a  distinct  categorical  proposition,  such 
as  he  can  write  down  in  a  form  of  words,  and  guide  and 
limit  his  preparation  by  it,  and  aim  in  all  he  says  to 
bring  out  this,  and  nothing  else. 

In  other  words,  there  is  unity  in  a  discourse  when 
everything  in  it  tends  to  the  establishment  of  some 
one,  precise,  and  clearly  defined  proposition,  which  the 
preacher  proposes  to  himself  to  impress  so  deeply  upon 
the  hearts  of  his  hearers  that  they  cannot  possibly 
escape  the  practical  conclusions  which  he  will  deduce 
from  it — when  all  the  proofs,  examples,  illustrations, 
etc.,  which  his  sermon  contains  will,  however  varied 
they  may  be  in  themselves,  have  ultimate  reference  to 
the  development  of  the  one  great  leading  idea  which  is 
embodied  in  the  proposition  of  his  discourse. 


if-  K 


University  Education." 


104  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

A  unity  such  as  this,  at  once  simple  and  fruitful, 
comprises,  as  is  evident,  two  things — unity  of  view,  and 
unity  of  means. 

There  must  be  unity  of  view  in  a  discourse  ;  and  this 
quality  is  secured  when,  no  matter  how  circuitous  the 
route  may  be,  everything  in  the  sermon  tends  to  one 
common  end,  viz.,  the  establishment  of  the  one  parent 
idea  embodied  in  the  proposition ;  when  every  phrase 
in  the  sermon  has  some  reference  to  this  object ;  when 
everything  which  is  neither  necessary  nor  useful  for  this 
purpose  is  carefully  eliminated  ;  when,  in  fine,  from  this 
common  end,  as  from  a  central  point,  we  can  embrace, 
in  one  glance  of  the  eye,  the  whole  sermon  with  all  its 
ramifications.  These  ramifications  may,  of  course,  in- 
clude various  points,  or  heads,  or  arguments,  or  what- 
ever you  may  wish  to  call  them ;  but  it  must  be  ever 
borne  in  mind  that  when  we  thus  employ  several  points, 
we  do  so,  not  in  order  to  prove  two  or  three  different 
truths,  but  as  two  or  three  different  ways  of  proving 
one  truth.  Hence,  it  is  always  easy  to  tell  whether  the 
plan  of  our  sermon  possesses  unity.  Let  us  see  ivTiether 
it  is  reducible  to  a  syllogism.  We  should  probably 
act  very  foolishly  did  we  attempt  to  announce  our  sub- 
ject to  the  audience  under  the  syllogistic  form,  since 
such  a  mode  of  action  would  savour  of  intolerable  ped- 
antry and  formality ;  but  we  ought  generally  to  be  able 


•  ESSENTIAL  PROPERTIES  OF  A  PL  AX.  105 

to  render  an  account  of  it  to  ourselves  from  this  point 
of  view.  Suppose  that  we  were  preaching  on  the  end 
of  man,  and  that  we  took  as  the  parent  idea  of  our  dis- 
course the  sentiment,  "That  it  should  be  the  great 
object  of  every  sensible  man  to  secure  his  salvation," 
there  would  certainly  be  nothing  unduly  formal  and 
pedantic  in  announcing  our  subject  in  the  following 
shape,  although  it  contains,  as  the  logician  will  see  at 
a  glance,  the  germ  of  a  perfect  syllogism  : — 

"  All  reasonable  men  labour  most  earnestly  for  that 
which  is  most  worthy  of  their  toil.     Now,  whether  we 
consider  (1)  the  views  of  God  in  creating,  redeeming, 
and  preserving  man  ;  or  (2)  the  actions,  lives,  and  pen- 
ances of  the  saints ;  or  (3)  the  sentiments  of  different 
classes  of  men  at  the  hour  of  their  death ;  we  must 
necessarily  admit  that  the  securing  of  his  salvation  is 
the  one  great  object  most  worthy  of  the  attention  of 
every  reasonable  man."*     Let   us,  then,  repeat,  that 
imity  of  view  imparts  this  remarkable  and  invaluable 
property  to  a  discourse,  viz.,  that  it  reduces  it  to  one 
leading  proposition,  which  is  m^erely  brought  out  into 
greater  relief  by  the  various  luays  in  which  it  may  be 
presented  to  an  audience.    Fenelon  expresses  the  same 
idea  when  he  says  that  the  discourse  is  merely  the  de- 


*  < 


'  Sacred  Eloquence."     Chap.  4,  sec.  4.     3rd  edition. 


106  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

t 

velopment  of  tKe  proposition,  whilst  the  proposition  is 
nothing^  more  than  an  abridsrment  of  the  discourse. 

Let  us  repeat,  too,  that  although  such  a  plan  may 
appear  stiff  and  formal  on  paper,  it  need  not  be  so  in 
the  least  degree  when  developed  and  reduced  to  prac- 
tice in  the  hands  of  an  experienced  orator ;  whilst  it 
is  so  necessary  to  success  that,  without  it,  a  preacher 
will  ordinarily  produce  little  or  no  result.  The  mass  of 
hearers  are  equally  unable  and  unwilling  to  follow  or 
pick  up  disconnected  and  disjointed  ideas,  which  have 
no  direct  reference  to  some  one  great  plain  practical 
truth  which  is  supposed  to  be  before  them,  claiming 
their  attention,  enlisting  their  sympathies,  and  per- 
suading them  to  reformation  of  life  and  manners.  His 
intelligence  is  very  limited  indeed  who  is  not  able  to 
detect  the  wanderings  of  a  preacher  who  speaks  with- 
out order  and  logical  sequence  of  ideas,  and  who  says 
many  things  which  have  no  direct  bearing  on  the  sub- 
ject in  hand.  However  humble  the  hearer  may  be,  he 
is,  not  rarely,  quick  to  take  offence  when  the  preacher 
thus  presumes  upon  his  patience  and  intellectual  capa- 
city. In  such  circumstances,  looking,  naturally  enough, 
upon  the  speaker  as  a  traveller  who  has  either  forgot- 
ten, or  who  knows  not  whither  he  is  going,  the  hearer 
loses  all  interest  in  the  discourse,  and,  of  course,  receives 
no  benefit  from  it.  And  it  is  unnecessary  to  add  that 
these    inconveniences    are    increased    a    thousandfold 


ESSENTIAL  PROPERTIES  OF  A  PLAN.  107 

when  there  is  question  of  an  intelligent  and  educated 
audience. 

Nor  is  it  sufficient  that  what  we  say  have  some  rela- 
tion to  the  general  end  of  the  discourse,  or  be  compre- 
hended, in  a  degree  more  or  less  vague,  within  the 
unity  of  view.  Quintilian  asks  what  it  is  that  consti- 
tutes a  strong  and  vigorous  body,  and  he  answers,  that 
it  is  the  union  and  perfect  agreement  of  all  the  mem- 
bers. "  Displace  but  one  member,"  says  he,  "  and  the 
beautiful  body  becomes  a  monster."  It  is  just  the 
same  with  a  sermon.  Its  strength  and  its  beauty  arise, 
as  we  have  already  remarked  more  than  once,  not  from 
disconnected  and  disunited  members,  no  matter  how 
elegant  they  may  be  in  themselves,  but  from  the  inti- 
mate relation,  and  the  perfect  agreement,  of  one  part  to 
another  and  to  the  whole.  The  arrangement  of  a  dis- 
course is  perfect  when  each  argument,  and  each  leading 
idea,  is  so  placed,  with  such  strict  order  and  coherence, 
that  no  one  can  be  omitted  without  causing  a  fatal 
gap,  without  destroying,  more  or  less  completely,  the 
vitality  of  the  whole.  When  such  order  is  wanting, 
the  preacher  frequently  commences  with  that  which 
should  not  have  made  its  appearance  until  the  middle 
of  the  discourse ;  or,  he  ends  where  he  ought  to  have 
begun.  Therefore,  a  good  plan  does  not  merely  secure 
unity  of  view,  but  it  also  secures  unity  of  means.    And 


108  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

there  is  unity  of  means  in  a  discourse  when  all  its 
parts,  arguments,  and  illustrations,  are  so  united,  con- 
nected, and  arranged,  that  the  preacher  continually 
advances  on  the  same  line  of  progressive  conceptions ; 
when  his  sermon  is  one  tissue  of  ideas  and  sentiments 
which  succeed  and  follow  each  another.  In  a  sermon  of 
this  kind  everything  is  in  its  proper  place.  The  edu- 
cated hearer  follows  such  a  preacher  with  delight  and 
satisfaction — the  humblest  of  his  audience  is  able  to 
penetrate  his  line  of  argument  with  ease.  Each  truth 
that  is  put  forward,  whilst  preparing  the  way  for  some 
other  truth  which  has  equal  need  of  its  support,  at  once 
introduces  and  sustains  it.  Thus  sustaining  each  other, 
they  all  unite  in  conducting  the  audience  to  the  com- 
mon end  in  such  a  manner,  and  with  such  an  intimate 
and  close  connection,  that  no  one  of  these  leading  ideas 
can  be  omitted  without  injuring  the  order  of  the 
maf  ch — not  one  of  them  misplaced  without  weakening, 
at  least  in  some  degree,  the  force,  and  destroying  the 
harmony,  of  the  whole  discourse. 

By  a  close,  but,  at  the  same  time,  easy  and  sensible  ap- 
plication of  these  great  principles,  we  shall  secure  for  our 
discourse  that  unity,  at  once  simple  and  fruitful,  which 
St.  Augustine  declares  to  be  the  principle  and  form 
of  everything  that  is  living  and  beautiful.  Omnis 
'pulchritudinis  forma  unitas  est. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PROXIMATE  PREPARATION  OF  THE  SERMON — THE 
PREACHER  AT  WORK — HOW  TO  PARCEL  OUT  THE 
WEEK  IN  THE  MOST  USEFUL  AND  PRACTICAL  MAN- 
NER— PLAN  OF  A  SERMON. 


E  have  now  conducted  the  young  preacher  to  a 
very  important  stage  of  his  preparation,  viz.,  that 
in  which  he  takes  his  pen  in  hand,  and  sketches  out  a 
clear,  sharp,  bold  plan  of  the  discourse  which  he  pro- 
poses to  deliver. 

If  we  suppose,  as  will,  indeed,  be  generally  the  case, 
that  he  has  only  a  week  in  which  to  prepare  his  dis- 
course, he  should  have  arrived  at  this  stage  of  his  pre- 
paration not  later  than  the  Thursday  previous  to  the 
Sunday  on  which  he  has  to  preach.  It  will  be  all  the 
better  if  he  can  arrive  thither  on  Wednesday,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  he  should  not;  for,  although,  no 
doubt,  the  amount  of  preparation  through  which  we 
have  conducted  him  looks  formidable  enough  on  paper. 


110  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

he  will,  at  all  events  in  a  little  time,  find  it  simple  and 
easy  enough  in  practice. 

And,  before  we  commence  to  parcel  out  his  daily 
work  in  this  direction  for  him,  let  us  most  earnestly 
and  emphatically  recommend  the  young  preacher  to 
begin  to  prepare  his  sermon  as  early  as  possible  in  the 
week.  In  ordinary  circumstances,  and,  of  course,  mak- 
ing allowance  for  unforeseen  contingencies,  which  wdll 
arise  from  time  to  time,  to  interfere  with  our  most 
careful  and  precise  arrangements,  there  are  few  men 
.  who  would  not  be  able  to  prepare  their  sermons 
properly,  if  they  would  only  commence  in  time.  But, 
unfortunately,  this  preparation  is  put  off  from  day  to 
day.  Monday  and  Tuesday,  the  days  on  which  the 
generality  of  priests  have  most  leisure,  are  allowed  to 
slip  away  unheeded.  As  likely  as  not,  under  the 
circumstances,  Wednesday  is  as  void  of  preparation  as 
Monday  and  Tuesday.  Thursday  may  bring  sick-calls 
which  we  could  not  foresee,  or  occupations  for  which 
we  were  not  prepared ;  and,  in  any  case,  it  is  getting 
so  late  in  the  week  that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  com- 
mencing now.  At  all  events,  if  Thursday  be  passed, 
farewell  to  any  preparation  worthy  of  the  name.  Fri- 
day and  Saturday  are  days  in  the  life  of  most  missionary 
priests  which  do  not  afford  much  leisure  time  for 
serious    study,    or    for    any    other    occupation    than 


PREPAKATION  OF  THE  SERMON.  Ill 

the  discharge  of  the  more  active  and  laborious  duties 
of  the  sacred  ministry.  In  the  arrangement,  then, 
of  his  various  duties,  and  most  of  all,  perhaps,  in 
the  preparation  of  his  sermon,  let  the  young  and 
zealous  priest  guard  most  carefully  against  the  fatal 
habit  of  "putting  off;"  a  habit  which  is  the  most 
deadly  enemy  of  everything  in  the  shape  of  order, 
regularity,  and  prudent  discharge  of  priestly  obliga- 
tions ;  a  habit  which,  if  it  be  once  indulged,  grows 
upon  a  man  so  rapidly  and  imperceptibly  as  to  over- 
throw his  best  resolutions  and  his  most  earnest  desires, 
and  at  last  establishes  itself  in  his  nature,  with  a 
firmness  of  hold,  and  a  tyrannical  grasp  of  power,  that 
render  him,  if  not  positively  impotent  for  good,  at  least 
the  slave  of  those  half  resolves,  those  miserable  vel- 
leities,  which  never  produce  any  result  worthy  of  a  man 
or  a  priest. 

After  these  preliminary  observations,  we  now  pro- 
pose, with  all  deference  and  respect,  to  endeavour  to 
show  the  young  preacher  how  he  is  practically  to  apply 
the  principles  which  we  have  laid  down  in  the  previous 
chapters  of  this  essay,  to  the  composition  or  preparation 
of  his  extemporary  discourse.  And  this  is  the  manner 
in  which  we  recommend  him  to  proceed  : — 

Let  him  as  early  as  possible  on  Monday  select  and 
fix  upon  the  subject  of  his  sermon  for  the  ensuing  Sun- 


112  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

day.     He  will,  of  course,  be  governed  in  this  selection 
by  the  principles  at  which  we  have  already  glanced. 
He  will  take  as  the  subject  of  his  discourse  either  the 
Epistle  or  Gospel  for  the  day,  probably  the  latter :  some 
virtue  which  he  may  find  it  especially  incumbent  upon 
him  to  inculcate  at  that  time :  or  some  vice  which  it 
may  be  necessary  to  denounce  :  or,  he  will  be  influenced 
and  controlled  in  his  selection  by  the  recurrence  of 
some  great  Festival  of  the  Church,  or  the  anniversary  of 
some  great  saint.     Let  him  reflect  for  a  few  moments 
on  what  we  may  call,  the  circumstances  of  the  week, 
and  then  let  him  select,  with  one  energetic,  rapid  de- 
termination of  his  will,  the  subject  of  his  discourse,  and 
let  him  stick  to  that.     Let  him  not  spend  half  the 
morning  in  useless  deliberations,  changing  his  mind 
again  and  again,  and  perhaps  eventually  fixing  upon 
no  subject  at  all.     It  is  better  for  him  in  the  circum- 
stances to  select  his  subject  at  once,  and,  although  it 
may  be  less  powerful  in  itself,  to  adhere  to  that,  than 
to  lose  half,  or  the  whole  of  his  day,  in  selecting  first 
one   subject  and    then   another,   until,   so    to    speak, 
he  becomes    bewildered.      If  a   man  have   to  preach 
on   a   great  occasion,  with   ample   time  in  which   to 
prepare,  he,  no   doubt,  will   do  well  not  to   fix  upon 
his   subject   until  he    has  devoted  a  few  days  to  its 
general    consideration.      The    missionary    who    must 


PREPARATION   OF  THE   SERMON.  113 

preach  every  week,  perhaps  oftener,  has  not  time  for 
this. 

Having  selected  his  subject,  let  him  set  to  work  to 
*'  read  up "  steadily  on  the  matter,  pencil  in  hand, 
according  to  the  method  which  we  have  ventured  to 
suggest,  or  any  better  and  more  suitable  one  which  he 
may  be  able  to  discover  for  himself.  And,  again  we 
presume  to  hint  that,  of  all  the  da3''s  in  a  priest's  week, 
Monday  is  the  best  on  which  to  "read  up"  for  his 
sermon.  Nor  do  we  mean  by  this  course  of  reading  to 
deprive  him  of  that  fair  share  of  rest  and  recreation 
which  many  clergymen  are  accustomed  to  allow  them- 
selves, with  great  reason  and  sufficiency  of  cause,  after 
the  heavy  labours  of  the  preceding  day.  For,  if  a 
priest  can  lay  his  hand  at  once  upon  the  book  which  he 
requires,  this  "  reading  up  "  for  his  sermon  need  not  be 
a  very  formidable  matter.  To  a  man  who  has  gone 
through  a  regular  course  of  logical  ti'aining,  and  to 
whom,  in  consequence,  the  habit  of  analysis,  synopsis, 
and  general  condensation,  and  orderly  arrangement  of 
matter,  should  be  a  work  of  ease  and  facility ;  to  a  man 
whose  mind  is  habitually  well  stored  with  that  exact 
and  definite  theological  knowledge  which  every  priest, 
by  his  very  profession,  is  supposed  to  possess ;  to  a  man 
who  is  supposed  to  be  no  less  well  made  up  in  ascetical 
theology  and  the  principles  of  the  spiritual  life,  in  so 


114  EXTEMPOEAEY  PEEACHING. 

far,  at  least,  as  they  are  necessary  for  the  proper  dis- 
charge of  the  sacred  duties  of  the  confessional,  and  the 
direction  of  souls;  to  such  a  man,  we  assert,  a  very 
short  time  spent  in  revising  his  knowledge,  or  in 
gathering  new  ideas  from  the  perusal  of  some  good, 
solid  work,  ought  to  be  amply  sufficient  for  the  object 
in  view.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  one  hour's 
steady  reading,  more  especially  after  a  little  practice, 
will  not  suffice  to  furnish  him  with  most  abundant  and 
solid  materials  for  his  Sunday's  discourse.  Surely  there 
are  few  clergymen  who  cannot  find  one  or  two  hours  in 
the  week  to  devote  to  a  duty  at  once  so  useful,  so  im- 
portant, so  holy,  and  so  obligatory.  And,  yet,  we  are 
grievously  tempted  to  add  that  there  are  at  least  some 
sermons  delivered,  let  us  hope  not  many,  which  would 
have  appeared  in  a  very  different  guise,  and  with  a 
vastly  more  pleasing  face,  if  their  authors  had  devoted 
even  one  short  hour  to  the  serious  preparation  of  them. 
Having  given  Monday  to  "  reading-up,"  let  the 
preacher  devote  Tuesday  to  the  "  meditation  and  con- 
ception" of  his  subject.  This  is  a  matter  which  need 
cost  him  but  very  little  trouble.  As  he  goes  about  his 
ordinary  business,  visiting  his  sick,  or  taking  his  walk, 
let  him,  now  and  again  during  the  day,  turn  the  subject 
of  his  sermon,  and  the  matter  of  his  reading  on  the 
previous   day,   quietly   over   in   his   mind.     Let   him 


PREPARATION   OF  THE  SERMON.  115 

meditate  it  in  accordance  with  the  principles  already 
laid  down.     Above,  and   before  all,  let  him  strive  to 
grasp  that  one  parent   idea,  which  is  to   give  unity, 
efficacy,   and   life    to   his    discourse.      Let  him   grasp 
clearly  the  one  tiling  which  he  is  going  to  say;   the 
one  thing  upon  which  he  intends  to  insist;   the  one 
thing  which  he  proposes  to  himself  to  drive  home  to 
the  hearts  and  consciences  of  his  hearers.     Let  him 
grasp  this  one  great  parent  idea  with  all  his  might  and 
main  ;  let  him  fix  it  so  deeply  in  his  mind  that  nothing 
may  be  able  to  disturb  it,  or  weaken  the  hold  that  it 
has  taken  of  him.     Let  "  What  he  is  going  to  say," 
and,  "  How  he  is  going  to   say  it,"  stand  out  clearly, 
sharply,  distinctly,  and  readily,  before  his  mind's  eye, 
and  all  ^he  rest  will  be  as   nothing.     When   he  has 
arrived  at  this  point,  he  may  almost  venture  to  say  that 
his  sermon  is  ready,  that  his  preparation  is  virtually 
finished.     It  will  surely  not  be  very  difficult  to  arrive 
at  this  point.    The  difficulty  would  seem  to  be,  how  an 
educated  man  can  possibly  spend  an  hour  or  two  in 
reading  and  meditating  any  subject,  certainly  any  pro- 
fessional subject,  with  a  view  to  addressing  his  fellow 
men  upon  it,  without  arriving  at  some  clear,  definite, 
and  practical  conclusions  on  the  matter.    It  would  seem 
almost   impossible  to  conceive   an   educated   and   in- 
tellectual man  bringing  the  powers  of  his  mind  to  bear 


116         EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

upon  a  subject,  at  once  so  sacred,  so  practical,  and  so 
full  of  sympathy,  as  a  sermon,  without  deriving  from 
the  consideration  of  it,  at  least  one  great  idea,  one  idea 
which  will  be  no  less  fruitful  in  its  results  than  in  its 
conception.  Still,  whatever  may  be  said  on  this  point, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  to  the  man  who  thus  really 
meditates  his  subject,  and  who,  through  this  medita- 
tion of  it,  thus  conceives  it,  the  next  stage  in  his 
formal  preparation  will  follow  almost  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  one  in  which  he  will  experience  neither 
annoyance  nor  disappointment. 

Having  devoted  Monday  to  reading-up,  and  Tuesday 
to  the  meditation  and  conception  of  his  subject,  let  the 
preacher  now  proceed  confidently  to  this  next  step  in 
his  preparation.  With  the  materials  which  he  has  pre- 
pared, ready  to  his  hand — with  the  leading  idea  of  his 
discourse  vividly  present  to  his  mind---let  him,  on 
Wednesday,  if  possible,  but  certainly  not  later  than 
Thursday,  take  his  pen,  and  on  half  a  sheet,  or  a  sheet 
of  paper,  sketch  out  a  bold,  vigorous,  and  practical  plan 
of  the  sermon  which  he  proposes  to  deliver.  Never 
losing  sight  of  the  essential  idea  of  a  plan,  that  it  is  the 
"  utilis  distributio,"  "  the  order  of  the  things  to  be  un- 
folded," he  will,  with  a  few  vigorous  strokes  of  his  pen, 
arrange  the  materials  of  his  discourse,  put  everything 
into   its   proper   place,  group   his  various   arguments. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE   SERMON.  117 

illustrations,  etc.,  around  their  parent  idea,  and  having 
done  this,  he  will  find,  ready  to  his  hand,  a  skeleton  so 
plastic,  so  symmetrical,  so  instinct  with  the  principles 
of  energy  and  life,  that  he  will  experience  little  or  no 
difficulty,  when  the  proper  moment  shall  have  arrived, 
in  clothing  these  dry  bones  with  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
living  words. 

In  the  composition  of  his  plan  he  will  probably  pro- 
ceed in  some  such  way  as  this.  First,  he  will  write 
down  the  text  of  Scripture  most  appropriate  to  head 
his  sermon.  Then,  will  follow,  clearly,  sharply,  and 
distinctly  expressed  in  a  few  words,  the  leading  idea 
of  his  discourse,  that  idea  which  will  presently  be 
embodied  in  the  proposition.  Next,  from  a  general  view 
of  the  whole  discourse  which  he  proposes  to  deliver, 
and  the  method  of  its  treatment,  he  will  obtain  the 
idea  of  his  introduction  or  exordium,  and  this  he 
will  put  down  in  a  few  terse  words.  The  exordium  or 
introduction  naturally  conducts  him  to  the  proposition 
of  his  discourse,  and  this  he  will  write  out  as  clearly 
and  distinctly  as  possible,  not  indeed  with  a  view  of 
unfolding  it  to  his  audience  in  the  same  precise  formal 
manner  in  which  he  may  have  drawn  it  up,  but  for  his 
own  guidance  and  direction.  This  proposition  will 
include  and  embody  the  leading  idea  of  his  sermon, 
together  with  the  members  of  his  division,  or  the  parts 


lis  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

of  his  discourse.  Whilst  it  avoids  undue  formality  and 
pedantic  stiffness,  the  proposition  will,  nevertheless,  be 
expressed,  both  in  the  discourse  itself,  and  a  fortiori 
in  the  plan,  as  briefly  as  possible  ;  and,  in  every  really 
orderly  sermon,  it  will,  as  a  general  rule,  directly  or 
indirectly,  be  reducible  to  a  syllogism,  although  we 
repeat  that  it  will  not,  and  ought  not,  be  so  expressed. 
Having  thus  written  out  the  proposition  of  his  discourse, 
he  will  next  arrange  the  members  of  his  division,  the 
first,  second,  or  third  points,  as  they  are  usually  called  ; 
only  let  him  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  a 
sermon  should  have  more  than  one  point.  But  if,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  the  sermon  contains  several  points  or 
members,  he  will  arrange  each  one  in  its  own  proper  place, 
with  its  own  peculiar  arguments  and  oratorical  develop- 
ments, illustrations,  etc.,  briefly  and  clearly  sketched  out; 
so  that  each  one  may  present  itself  to  his  mind's  eye, 
during  the  delivery  of  the  discourse,  at  the  very  moment 
when  he  requires  it.  Finally,  from  a  general  view 
of  the  whole  discourse,  he  will  consider,  and  briefly 
note  down,  those  sentiments,  powerful  emotions,  and 
generous  resolutions,  with  which  he  will  seek  to  move 
the  hearts  of  his  hearers  at  the  close  of  his  sermon.  In 
other  words,  he  will  obtain  the  matter  of  his  peroration 
•or  conclusion. 

Such,  briefly,  is  some  idea  of  the  method  vfYdch.,  positis 
ponendis,  making  all  allowances  for  individual  tastes, 


PREPAKATION   OF  THE    SERMON.  119 

most  preachers  will  follow  in  sketching  the  plan  of 
a  discourse.  One  man  may,  of  course,  develop  it  at 
greater  length  than  another — one  man  may  content 
himself  wdth  the  merest  skeleton,  whilst  another  will 
fill  in  the  details  of  his  sketch  with  considerable 
fulness ;  but,  however  much  a  man  may  follow  the  bent 
of  his  own  taste,  and  he  will  wisely  do  so  in  some 
matters,  the  broad  leading  features  of  the  plan  will 
probably  be  substantially  the  same  in  most,  if  not  in 
all  cases. 

For  the  further  elucidation  of  this  important  matter, 
and  to  assist  the  young  preacher  in  reducing  principles 
to  practice,  we  subjoin  the  plan  or  skeleton  of  a 
sermon  on  mortal  sin. 

Plan  of  a  Sermon  on  Mortal  Sin. 

Text. — Delicta  quis  intelligit  ? — Ps.  xviii.  13. 

Leading  Idea. — There  is  only  one  real  evil  in  the 
world,  the  evil  of  mortal  sin,  but  inasmuch  as  this 
is  an  evil  of  infinite  enormity,  we  are  bound  to 
avoid  it  by  every  consideration  which  can  appeal 
to  the  heart  of  man. 

Introduction. — If  there  be  only  one  real  evil  in  the 
world,  but  if  that  evil  be  one  of  infinite  malice  and 
enormity — the  source  of  all  other  evils — and  if  the 
name   of  this  sovereign   evil   be  mortal  sin — we 


120  EXTEMPOEART  PREACHING. 

should,  if  we  were  really  Christian  men,  be  seized 
with  horror  and  confusion  to  think  that  we  had 
dared  thus  to  offend  God. 

If  we  could  but  conceive  a  trite  idea  of  the 
nature  of  sin — we  should,  instead  of  drinking  in 
sin  like  water,  be  penetrated  with  the  greatest 
horror  of  it — Ps.  xviii.  13.  Instead  of  spend- 
ing our  lives  in  thoughtless  folly — Jere'^n.,  xii.  11 — ■- 
we  should  meditate  upon  the  law  of  God  day  and 
night — Ps.  i. 

We  should  be  astonished  that  all  creatures  do 
not  rise  up  to  avenge  the  insult  offered  by  sin  to 
God,  the  Creator  and  Sovereign  Lord  of  all. 

Proposition. — Let  us  then  conceive  the  greatest  horror 
of  sin — let  us  persuade  ourselves  that  whether  we 
view  it  (1)  as  an  offence  of  God,  or  (2)  as  the 
greatest  injury  which  we  can  do  to  ourselves,  or 
(8)  as  the  most  egregious  folly  of  which  we  can  be 
guilty,  it  is  the  one  real  evil  of  the  world,  and 
the  one,  therefore,  which  every  sensible  man  will 
do  his  utmost  to  avoid. 

First  Point. — Mortal  sin  is  the  deepest  and  most 
deadly  insult  which  a  creature  can  offer  to  his 
creator.  "  Delicta  quis  intelligit  ?"  To  realize  its 
enormity  we  must  consider  the  quality  of  the 
person  offended,  of  the  person  offending,  and  the 


PREPARATION   OF  THE  SERMON.  121 

vileness  or  worthlessness  of  the  object  on  account 
of  which  it  is  offered.  By  these  circumstances  the 
morality  of  the  action  must  be  measured. 

The  person  to  whom  the  insult  is  offered  is  God, 
the  infinite  wisdom  and  perfection,  the  sovereign 
ruler  and  master  of  the  world  :  "  Quis  sicut  Deus  ?" 

He  by  whom  the  insult  is  offered ;  he  who  says 
"  Non  serviam,"  Jereni.,  ii.  20  ;  he  who  rejects  his 
lawful  sovereign  and  master,  "  Nolumus  hunc  reg- 
nare  super  nos,"  Luc.^  xix.  14 ;  is  a  mere  worm  of 
the  earth,  depending  upon  God  for  the  very  breath 
of  his  life.  "  Nihilum  armatum  et  rebelle" — >S^^. 
Aonh. 

The  object  for  which  he  thus  outrages  God  is 
worthless — a  mere  nothing — a  momentary  gratifi- 
cation, not  unfrequently  disgusting  in  its  very 
nature  :  "  Oderunt  me  gratis  " — Ps.  xxxiv. 

Sin,  therefore,  in  one  sense,  is  of  infinite  malice; 
it  outrages  the  infinite  majesty  of  God.  Hence  St. 
Thomas  maintains  that  the  wisdom  of  God,  all 
infinite  as  it  is,  could  not  inveut  a  punishment 
adequate  to  the  enormity  of  mortal  sin :  "  Delicta 
quis  intelligit  V 
Second  Point. — The  commission  of  mortal  sin  is  the 
greatest  injury  which  we  can  do  ourselves. 

It  reduces  us  to  a  state  of  absolute  and  terrible 


122  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

spiritual    iDdigence :    "  Egressus   est  a    filia  Sion 
omnis  decor  ejus" — Thren.,  i.  16. 

It  deprives  us  of  sanctifying  grace — robs  us  of 
our  hopes  of  Paradise — causes  us  to  forfeit  all  the 
merits  which  we  may  previously  have  acquired — 
renders  even  our  best  actions  fruitless  "  in  ordine 
ad  meritum  supernaturale."  "  Nescis  quia  tu  es  mi- 
ser"— A200C.,  xiii.  17.  It  renders  us  the  victims  of 
undying  and  ceaseless  remorse  of  conscience.  It 
exposes  us  daily  and  hourly  to  the  terrible  risk  of 
an  unprovided  death,  and  consequently  to  eternal 
damnation.  "  Stulte  hac  nocte  animam  tuam  re- 
petunt  a  te" — Luc,  xx. 
Third  Point. — Mortal  sin  is  the  greatest  folly  of  which 
we  can  be  guilty  :  "  Furor  illius  sicut  .  .  aspidis 
obturantis  aures  suas" — Ps.  v. 

By  the  habit  of  sin  the  heart  is  hardened.  God 
seeing  his  choicest  graces  despised  or  abused 
gradually  withdraws,  and  leaves  the  sinner  to 
himself — "  Derelinquamus  eam" — Jer.  li.  It  leads 
to  despair — "  Desperantes  seipsos  tradiderunt  in 
operationem  immunditise  omnis" — Eph.  iv.  Each 
succeeding  sin  renders  the  sinner  more  and  more 
helpless,  bad  habits  acquire  a  firmer  hold,  and  a 
greater  mastery  over  him,  till  at  length  he  falls  into — 
Final  Impenitence     He  dies  as  he  lived — his  last 


PREPAKATION  OF  THE  SERMON.  1:^3 

act  upon  earth  is  a  new  outrage  against  God — the 
assistance   of  the   priest,  the   sacraments   of  the 
Church,  are  equally  fruitless  to  rescue  him  from 
the  terrible  state  of  reprobation  into  which  God 
has   allowed    him   to    fall,  in   punishment  of  his 
prevarications.     He  dies,  and  is  buried  in  hell — 
"  Iniquitates  suEe    capiunt  impium" — Ps.,   v.    22. 
And    all    this    is    the    fruit   of  sin.     What  folly ! 
What  blindness  !  What  utter  madness  !  Who  shall 
measure  it  ? — "  Delicta  quis  intelligit  "  ? 
Conclusion. — If  such  be  the  dreadful  results  of  mortal 
sin,  shall  we  not,  if  we   be  wise,  examine   most 
seriously  the  state  of  our  conscience  on  this  point? 
If  our  conscience  bear  witness  against  us,  shall  we 
not  resolve  to  emancipate  ourselves  at  once  from 
this  dreadful  thraldom  ?     Shall  we  not  have  im- 
mediate recourse  to  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  ? 
Shall  we  not  resolve  henceforward  to  look  upon 
mortal  sin  as  the  greatest  evil  in  the  world,  and, 
as  a  necessary  consequence,  do  our  utmost  to  avoid 
it  ?    Act  of  Contrition,  or  Fervent  Prayer  to  Jesus 
Christ. 
In  some  such  manner  as  this  will  the  preacher  sketch 
out  the  skeleton  or  plan  of  his  discourse.     The  above 
plan  is  probably  more  elaborate  and  lengthy  than  would 
be  required,  or  would  even  be  useful  for  an  ordinary 
instruction.      Simple   as   it   may   read,   the    preacher 


124  EXTEMPOEAET  PREACHING. 

would  most  likely  find  that  it  would  take  him  a  very- 
considerable  time  to  develop,  and  put  into  his  own 
words,  the  ideas  thrown  out  in  this  plan.  Perhaps,  he 
might  find  that  it  would  be  quite  as  much  as  he  could 
do  to  develop  any  one  point  of  this  plan  in  twenty  or 
twenty-five  minutes ;  and  if  he  be  wise,  he  will  not,  on 
ordinary  occasions,  attempt  to  pass  this  limit.  And, 
although  we  do  not  by  any  means  presume  to  propose 
this  plan  to  him  as  a  perfect,  or  nearly  perfect  model, 
we  venture  to  think  that  there  is  no  idea  in  it  which  is 
not  practical,  which  will  not  admit  of  solid  amplification, 
and  of  much  fruitful  application,  and  solid  instruction. 
He  will  see  that  it  contains  no  luriting,  aAd  no  flights 
of  rhetoric;  that  it  merely  presents  him  with  substantial 
ideas,  the  clothing  and  rhetorical  filling-in  of  which  is  left 
to  each  individual's  taste  and  style.  He  will  see  that 
it  is  a  mere  skeleton,  but  a  skeleton  which  can  be  easily 
clad  in  living  flesh  and  blood ;  and  he  will  see,  too,  that 
it  possesses  the  quality  of  unity,  since  every  idea  it  con- 
tains tends,  more  or  less  directly,  to  the  development 
and  establishment  of  the  great  parent  idea  of  the  whole, 
the  infinite  enormity  and  evil  of  mortal  sin. 

The  preacher  having  thus  prepared  his  plan,  and 
having  arrived  at  this  point,  let  us  say  on  Wednesday 
or  Thursday,  all  that  now  remains  is  to  get  this  plan 
firmly  fixed  in  the  mind.     During  the  remaining  days 


PREPARATION   OF  THE   SERMON.  125 

of  the  week,  therefore,  let  him,  for  this  purpose,  review 
his  plan  from  time  to  time.      Let  him  endeavour  to 
realize  and  conceive,  in  the  clearest  and  most  precise 
manner,  the  connexion  and  bearing  of  the  entire  dis- 
course, of  its  various  parts  with  one  another  and  with 
the  whole.     In  other  words,  let  him  strive  to  write  in 
his  mind  the  plan  which  he  has  already  written  on 
paper,  and  this  with  such  clearness  and  precision,  that, 
at  the  time  of  delivery,  each  idea  may  present  itself  at 
the  very  moment  it  is  needed.      If  he  "possess"  his 
plan  perfectly,  he  will  grasp  it,  w^hole  and  entire,  in 
one  vigorous  mental  glance,  and,  thus  possessing  it,  he 
will  be  able  to  bring  each  part  into  play  in  the  most 
effectual  manner.     He  will  never  for  a  moment  lose 
sight  of  the  great  parent  idea,  the  vivifying  principle 
of  life  and  strength  in  the  discourse.     He  will  be  able 
to  bring  each  argument  and  illustration  to  bear  with 
the  most  striking  and  conclusive  results.    He  will  never 
falter  or  break  down.     Order,  the  pervading  principle 
of  his  plan,  will  be  equally  the  pervading  principle  of 
the  realization  of  that  plan.     Each  member  of  his  divi- 
sion, and  each  leading  idea,  argument,  or  illustration 
contained  in  that  member,  will  present  itself  to  his 
mind's  eye  promptly  and  readily  at  the  moment  of 
delivery,  in  all  due  order  and  regular  progression,  to  be 
clothed    in   those   strong,  earnest,  or   pathetic  words, 


126  EXTEMPOEAEY  PREACHING. 

which  most  surely  will  not  fail  him  who  has  thus  care- 
fully prepared  himself  to  speak  with  glory  to  God,  with 
advantage  to  his  neighbour,  and  with  credit  to  himself 
If  the  plan  be  sketched  sufficiently  early  in  the  week  ; 
if  it  be  clear,  precise,  and,  above  all,  not  too  long  or 
elaborate ;  it  cannot  possibly  give  the  preacher  much 
trouble  or  difficulty  thus  to  fix  and  engrave  it  on  his 
mind. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  PREACHER  IN  THE  PULPIT — REALIZATION  OF  HIS 
PLAN — HOW  TO  INTRODUCE  HIS  SUBJECT — THE  PRAC- 
TICE OF  EMPLOYING  A  WRITTEN  EXORDIUM  AND 
OTHER  CHOICE  MORSELS  OF  ELOQUENCE  IN  AN  EX- 
TEMPORARY DISCOURSE. 


E  have  already  conducted  the  preacher  through 
the  various  stages  involved  in  the  preparation 
of  his  discourse.  Let  us  now  accompany  him  into  the 
pulpit  to  witness  the  realization  of  his  plan — the  per- 
fecting of  those  conceptions  which  are,  as  yet,  in  one 
sense,  barren  and  dead — those  conceptions  which  are 
to  be  rendered  living  and  potent  by  the  words  in  which 
he  is  about  to  clothe  and  present  them  to  his  hearers. 

We  will  suppose  the  supreme  and  culminating  point 
of  his  preparation  to  have  arrived.  In  a  few  moments 
more  he  will  be  face  to  face  with  his  audience,  strong 
in  the  feeling  that  he  is  moulding  and  welding  them  to 
his  will,  or  wretched  in  the  conviction  that  his  words 
are  falling  upon  an  unfruitful  soil,  that  he  is  merely 


128  EXTEMPOKAEY   PREACHING. 

beating  the  air  to  no  purpose,  that  he  has  failed  to 
secure  the  attention,  or  to  enlist  the  sympathies,  of 
those  who  must  perforce  listen  to  what  he  says,  but 
who  show  by  their  gestures  and  their  bearing  how 
unwillingly  they  do  so. 

It  is  an  important,  a  decisive  moment,  one  which 
may  well  inspire  even  the  most  finished  orator  with 
fear  and  trembling.  Let,  then,  the  preacher  once  more 
collect  himself  for  a  few  moments,  that  thus  he  may 
concentrate  all  the  energies  of  his  mind  and  body  on 
the  task  before  him.  Let  him  summon  to  his  aid  the 
undivided  powers  of  his  intellect  and  imagination ;  let 
him  fix  them  once  again  upon  the  end  to  be  gained, 
upon  the  plan  to  be  realized,  and  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  to  be  realized ;  and  thus  holding,  so  to  speak,  his 
soul  in  his  hand,  let  him  enter  the  pulpit  with  a  bound- 
less confidence  in  God,  with  a  calm,  cheerful,  and  modest 
reliance  on  himself,  with  an  earnest,  honest  determina- 
tion to  do  his  best,  and  with  no  misgivings  as  to  the 
result. 

The  sermon  in  its  realization  will  be  broadly  com- 
prised in  three  great  leading  parts :  the  introduction, 
the  body  of  the  discourse,  and  the  conclusion. 

Let  the  student  refresh  his  memory  as  to  the  object 
and  nature  of  an  exordium  or  introduction,  and  the 
means  it  employs  to  gain  its  end.     He  will  remember 


THE  PREACHER   IN   THE   PULPIT.  129 

that  the  exordium  is  merely  a  becomiDg  introduc- 
tion of  the  subject,  having  for  one  of  its  princi- 
pal objects  to  dispose  our  hearers  to  receive  favourably 
that  which  we  are  about  to  say,  with  a  view,  of  course, 
to  their  ultimate  conviction  and  persuasion.  Reddere 
auditores  henevolos,  attentos  et  dociles.  He  will  re- 
member, too,  that,  as  this  threefold  end  is  attained  in 
various  ways,  and  by  different  means,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  subject,  and  the  dispositions  of  his  hearers, 
there  are  different  kinds  of  exordiums,  each  one  pos- 
sessing its  own  peculiar  qualities,  and  governed  by  its 
own  peculiar  rules. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  there  are  occasions  on 
which  the  exordium  ex  ahrupto  will  be  very  telling,  and 
should  be  employed.  Again,  a  man  may  open  his 
sermon  in  a  very  effective  manner  by  laying  down 
some  striking  proposition,  or  by  advancing  some 
startling  paradox,  which  will  at  once  arrest  and  enchain 
the  attention  of  the  hearers. 

But,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  the  exordium  of  the 

extemporary  discourse  is   one  of  the   simplest  things 

imaginable,  since    it  merely  aspires  to    introduce  the 

subject  in  the  plainest  possible  manner,   giving  us  a 

glimpse  of  the  great  broad  ideas  which  are  to  dominate 

the  discourse,  and  the  order  of  the  arrangement  which 

is  to  be  laid  down  and  followed.     Still,  even  in  this  • 

10 


130  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

case,  the  introduction  is  not  without  difficulties  peculiar 
to  itself,  and  occasionally  of  sufficiently  distressing  a 
nature. 

When  a  man  has  written  his  exordium,  and  com- 
mitted it  to  memory,  he  comes  forward  with  a  great 
deal  of  confidence,  and,  notwithstanding  the  inevitable 
distractions  which  attend  the  first  few  moments  of  his 
appearance  in  the  pulpit,  his  introductory  remarks  will 
always  be  finished  and  complete,  and  not  unfrequently 
they  will  form  the  most  brilliant  part  of  his  discourse. 

But  it  is  vastly  otherwise  with  him  who  extemporises. 
Oppressed  by  the  emotions  which  are  inseparable  from 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  finds  himself  placed ; 
carrying  all  his  ideas  in  his  brain,  and  trusting,  as  he 
does,  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment  for  the  words  in 
which  to  express  them ;  it  is  no  wonder  if  he  is  weak, 
even  somewhat  obscure,  in  the  beginning.  He  probably 
finds  a  difficulty  in  speaking  at  all ;  what  wonder,  then, 
if  he  finds  it  still  more  difficult  to  speak  to  the  point  ? 
Unless  he  have  previously  fixed  upon  a  few,  simple, 
clearly  defined  words  with  w^hich  to  commence,  he  will 
perhaps  hesitate,  even  if  he  does  not  stammer  and 
grow  confused,  during  the  first  moments  of  his  dis- 
course. And,  so  vividly  do  they  realize  this  difficulty 
of  making  a  good  start,  that  some  preachers,  who  con- 
tent themselves  with  merely  preparing  a  skeleton  or 


THE  PREACHER  IN  THE  PULPIT.  131 

plan  of  the  rest  of  their  discourse,  carefully  write  their 
exordium,  and  commit  it  to  memory.  But,  great  as 
the  difficulty  of  starting  well  may  be,  this  remedy  is 
one  which  we  can  scarcely  recommend,  although  we  do 
not  pretend  to  assert  that  those  who  are  able  to  avail 
themselves  of  it  with  success,  if  such  there  be,  should 
not  do  so. 

It  seems  to  us  that  the  man  who  has  not  such  com- 
mand of  himself  and  his  faculties,  and  such  a  supply  of 
words,  as  to  be  able  to  utter  the  few  sentences  which 
will  serve  to  introduce  his  subject,  will  hardly  be  able 
to  preach  extempore  at  all.  Were  such  a  man  to  write 
his  exordium,  and  commit  it  carefully  to  memory,  it 
seems  to  us  that  there  must  necessarily  be  such  a 
glaring  discrepancy  between  this  portion  of  his  dis- 
course, smooth,  glib,  and  fluent,  and  that  which  will 
follow,  rough,  hesitating,  and  confused,  as  must  be  in- 
finitely embarrassing  to  the  preacher  himself,  whilst  it 
will  be  painfully  apparent  to  his  hearers.  The  Abbe 
Bautain  remarks  that  the  true  orator  does  not  employ 
this  process,  and  hardly  finds  it  answer  when  he  has 
recourse  to  it;  since,  in  these  circumstances,  he  generally 
entangles  himself,  gets  confused,  and  fares  worse  than  if 
he  had  spoken  extempore.  The  man  who  is  able  to 
preach,  perhaps  fluently,  from  a  skeleton,  will  surely 
be  able  to  utter  the  few  sentences  that  will  serve  to 


132  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

introduce  his  discourse.  The  very  difficulty  of  com- 
mencinof,  and  the  innate  consciousness  which  he  has  of 
this  difficulty,  v/ill  give  an  air  of  modesty  to  his  bearing 
as  he  enters  the  pulpit,  and  a  gentle,  subdued,  and 
Christian  character,  as  well  to  his  voice  as  to  his  whole 
manner,  which  constitute  some  of  the  leading  qualities 
of  a  good  exordium,  and  which  will  do  more  to  propitiate 
his  audience  favourably  towards  him  than  the  delivery  of 
an  introduction  whose  glibness  and  self-possession  will 
not  be  warranted  and  maintained  by  the  rest  of  the 
discourse.  Those  morsels  of  eloquence,  and  those  choice 
bits  which  are  carefully  prepared  and  blended  here  and 
there  with  what  is  purely  extemporary,  in  order  to  give 
brilliancy  and  additional  effect  to  the  discourse,  will 
generally  prove  embarrassing  rather  than  really  useful 
to  him  who  can  speak  any  way  fluently  and  well ;  whilst 
to  the  man  of  inferior  attainments,  and  of  more  humble 
aspirations,  they  will  be  positively  injurious,  since  they 
"will  impart  a  style  and  character  to  his  introduction 
that  will  not  be  sustained  by  the  remainder  of  the  dis- 
course, which,  instead  of  continually  advancing  in 
vigour  and  strength,  according  to  the  golden  rule  of 
Cicero,  Ut  augeatur  semper  et  increscat  oratio,  will 
gradually  grow  weaker  and  more  feeble. 

It  will,  then,  be  much  better  for  the  preacher  to  have 
confidence  in  himself,  and  to  open  his  discourse  with  a 


THE  PREACHER  IN   THE  PULPIT.  133 

few  simple  words,  which  he  can  scarcely  find  much  diffi- 
culty in  framing.  Let  him  have  the  great  leading  idea 
of  his  discourse  clearly  and  vividly  present  to  his  mind, 
and  he  will  easily  find  the  words,  plain,  simple,  and 
earnest,  with  which  to  lead  the  way  to  its  enunciation. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  these  words,  as  well  as  the  voice 
in  which  they  are  uttered,  may  be  somewhat  weak  and 
faltering  in  the  opening,  but  let  him  persevere,  strong  in 
the  conscious  rectitude  of  his  intention,  and  his  trust  in 
God,  and  in  a  moment  all  will  be  changed.  He  will 
scarcely  have  pronounced  a  couple  of  sentences  before 
his  confusion  will  have  vanished,  and  he  will  stand,  a 
man,  face  to  face  with  his  subject,  its  master  and 
its  ruler.  Thus  face  to  face  with  his  subject,  grap- 
pling the  great  idea  which,  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  true  orator,  he  burns  to  manifest  and  bring 
home  to  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  multitude  whose 
eyes  are  fixed  in  rapt  attention  full  upon  him,  he  at 
once  feels  within  his  heart  the  ardent  glow  of  earnest- 
ness, of  enthusiasm,  of  inspiration.  The  light  which 
illumines  his  soul  will  show  itself  in  his  eyes,  in  every 
feature  of  his  face,  and  will  lend  its  character  and  in- 
fluence to  the  very  tones  of  his  voice.  In  a  word,  he 
will  realize  in  all  its  fulness  the  great  and  consoling 
idea  that  he  is  master  of  the  situation.  Strengthened  by 
the  consciousness  that  he  is  thoroughly  prepared,  and 


134!  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

that  the  materials  of  his  discourse,  plain,  clear,  orderly, 
and  well-defined,  are  ready  at  hand,  and  cannot  possibly 
fail  him,  he  will  launch  into  his  sermon  with  a  confi- 
dence which  will  grow  stronger  as  he  proceeds,  and 
with  a  success  which  will  receive  its  consummation  and 
its  crown  only  when  the  last  word  of  his  discourse  shall 
have  been  uttered. 

The  young  preacher,  then,  will  commence  his  sermon 
in  a  calm,  quiet  voice,  and  with,  as  far  at  least  as  this 
may  be,  unruffled  self-possession.  He  will  commence 
in  a  calm,  quiet  tone  of  voice,  for  he  will  remember  that 
he  has  yet  a  long  way  to  go,  and  that  if  he  is  to  arrive 
at  the  end  of  his  journey  with  sufficient  energy  remain- 
ing to  him  to  throw  that  fire  and  spirit  into  his  perora- 
tion without  which  it  cannot  succeed,  he  must  carefully 
husband  his  resources  in  the  beginning  of  his  discourse. 
Young  and  inexperienced  speakers  not  unfrequently 
commence  on  their  very  highest  note,  and  with  all  the 
fire  and  energy  which  they  can  command.  The  conse- 
quence is,  that  they  become  utterly  exhausted  before 
the  discourse  is  half  over;  they  gasp  for  breath,  and 
cling  to  the  pulpit  for  support ;  and  those  concluding 
sentences  which  should  have  runof  with  thrilling  force 
and  effect  through  the  church,  which  should  have 
awakened  the  unconcerned,  and  animated  the  ardent 
with  the  highest  and   most   holy   resolves,   are   often 


THE  PREACHER  IN  THE  PULPIT.        135 

expressed  in  tones  so  low,  so  feeble,  and  so  utterly  spirit- 
less, as  to  fall  vapid,  cold,  and  dead  upon  the  ears  of  an 
unconcerned  and  unsympathetic  audience.  But,  if  he 
begin  calmly  and  quietly,  not  elevating  his  voice  above 
the  emphatic  and  distinct  conversational  tone,  he  will 
be  able,  as  he  proceeds,  to  let  himself  out,  to  adapt 
himself  to  the  requirements  of  his  subject  and  his 
audience.  He  will  thus  escape  that  unpleasant  preju^ 
dice  which  is  nearly  always  excited  against  a  speaker 
who  commences  by  getting  into  a  passion  without  any 
conceivable  reason,  and  at  the  same  time  reserve  to 
himself  sufficient  energy  and  strength  to  conclude  with 
earnest  warmth  and  due  effect. 

The  exordium  of  the  ordinary  Sunday  discourse  will, 
as  a  general  rule,  be  nothing  more  than  a  brief,  simple, 
and  modest  explanation  of  the  Gospel  or  Epistle  for  the 
day,  with  a  glance  at  the  precise  lesson  or  instruction 
to  be  derived  from  it.  This  explanation  can  scarcely, 
positis  iionendis,  be  too  brief,  whilst  in  all  ordinary 
circumstances  it  can  most  assuredly  never  be  too  simple. 
There  is  no  room  here  for  laboured  figures  of  speech, 
for  cumbersome  oratorical  display,  for  crafty  self-seek- 
ing, which  is  only  half  hidden  under  a  flimsy  veil  of 
mock  humility,  and  of  transpareiit  and  palpable  self- 
consciousness.  There  is  uo  room  here  for  elaborated 
details,  for  ponderous  arguments,  or  for  intricate  and 


18G  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

far-fetched  comparisons.  The  only  object  at  present 
before  the  speaker  is,  to  lay  down  in  the  most  simple 
and  practical  manner  the  subject  or  theme  of  the  dis- 
course ;  to  shadow  forth,  without  entering  into  or  anti- 
cipating any  material  part  of  that  discourse,  the  main 
features,  and  the  broad  general  outline  of  the  whole ; 
that  thus,  whilst  rendering  his  hearers  attentive,  docile, 
and  well  disposed  towards  him,  he  may  gradually  lead 
the  way  to  the  enunciation  of  the  proposition,  or  back- 
bone of  his  sermon,  that  back-bone  which  is  to  impart 
strength,  vigour,  and  consistency  to  all  that  is  to  fol- 
low. 

At  the  very  outside,  the  introduction  will  not  occupy 
more  than  an  eighth  of  the  whole  discourse ;  frequently 
it  will  not  occupy  so  large  a  space.  And  if  this  be  its  due 
proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  sermon,  and  if  the  nature 
of  the  introduction  be  such  as  we  have  described  it 
above,  does  it  not  follow  pretty  plainly  that  those 
extemporary  preachers  who  write  their  exordiums  in 
order  to  make  a  good  start,  are  nearl}^  certain  to  violate 
these  essential  conditions  ?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  are 
not  such  introductions  nearly  always  as  much  too  long 
as  they  are  too  elaborate  and  superior  in  style  and 
composition  to  the  remainder  of  the  discourse  ?  Do  not 
such  discourses,  lacking  as  they  do  due  order  and 
strict  subordination  of  the  parts  to  each  other  and  to 


THE  PREACHER  IN  THE  PULPIT.        137 

the  whole,  form  those  monsters  of  composition  of  which 
we  spoke  a  little  while  ago  ?  Are  they  not  all  head, 
and  no  bodj^  to  speak  of  ?  Do  we  not  find  the  exordium 
occupy  the  place  of  the  peroration ;  and  whilst  we  gaze 
with  astonishment  at  the  portentous  proportions  of  the 
head,  do  we  not  look  in  vain  for  that  body  which  it  is 
supposed  to  vivify  and  grace,  but  which,  on  the  con- 
trary, it  dwarfs,  deforms,  perhaps  destroys  ?  Most  un- 
doubtedly it  is  so  in  many  cases ;  and  hence,  without 
presuming  to  lay  down  dogmatic  and  inflexible  rules, 
which  are  to  bind  all  men  in  all  times  and  all  circum- 
stances, v/e  can  neither  approve  the  practice  of  those 
extemporary  preachers  who  write  their  introduction 
and  other  choice  "  bits  "  of  their  discourse,  nor  recom- 
mend it  to  the  student  for  his  adoption. 

See  with  what  beautiful  simplicity,  with  what  per- 
fect order,  with  what  clearness  and  precision,  a  great 
preacher  like  Dr.  Newman  introduces  his  subject ! 
Let  us  examine  the  introduction  of  that  eloquent 
writer's  raao^nificent  sermon  on  "The  Nesflect  of  Divine 
Calls  and  Warnings,"  and  as  we  note  the  seemingly  un- 
studied clearness  and  perspicuity  with  which  he  leads 
up  to  the  enunciation  of  the  parent  idea  of  his  discourse, 
viz.,  that  those  who  think  to  live  in  sin  and  die  in 
grace  are  guilty  of  a  most  terrible  and  fatal  self-delu- 
sion^ we  perceive  so  little  sign  of  art,  of  studyj  or  of  care- 


138  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

ful  preparation  in  its  composition,  that  we  immediately 
conclude  we  could  do  as  well  ourselves ;  and  it  is  only 
after  we  have  made  the  attempt  that  we  discover  how 
close  a  relation,  and  how  intimate  a  connection,  there 
exists  between  the  most  perfect  simplicity  of  style  and 
the  most  finished  eloquence  of  composition. 

In  studying  the  introduction  which  we  here  propose 
to  his  consideration,  let  the  reader  mark,  in  the  first 
place,  how  simply  and  with  what  order  Dr.  Newman 
disposes  of  the  preliminary  ideas  and  notions  which  so 
naturally  present  themselves: — 

"  No  one  sins,"  he  begins,  "  without  making  some  ex- 
cuse to  himself  for  sinning.  He  is  obliged  to  do  so : 
man  is  not  like  the  brute  beasts ;  he  has  a  divine  gift 
within  him  which  we  call  reason,  and  which  constrains 
him  to  give  an  account  to  it  for  what  he  does.  He 
cannot  act  at  random ;  however  he  acts,  he  must  act 
by  some  kind  of  rule,  on  some  sort  of  principle,  else  he 
is  vexed  and  dissatisfied  with  himself.  Not  that  he  is 
very  particular  whether  he  finds  a  good  reason  or  a  bad, 
when  he  is  very  much  straitened  for  a  reason,  but  a 
reason  of  some  sort  he  must  have.  Hence  you  some- 
times find  that  those  who  give  up  religious  duty,  attack 
the  conduct  of  religious  men,  whether  their  acquaint- 
ance, or  the  ministers  or  professors  of  religion,  as  a  sort 


THE  PREACHER  IN   THE  PULPIT.  139 

of  excuse — a  very  bad  one— for  their  neglect.  Others, 
and  Catholics  too,  will  make  the  excuse  that  they  are  so 
far  from  church,  or  so  closely  occupied  at  home,  whether 
they  will  or  not,  that  they  cannot  serve  God  as  they 
ought.  Others  say  that  it  is  no  use  trying,  that  they 
have  again  and  again  gone  to  confession,  and  tried  to 
keep  out  of  mortal  sin,  and  cannot ;  and  so  they  give  up 
the  attempt  as  hopeless.  Others,  who  are  not  Catholics, 
when  they  fall  into  sin,  excuse  themselves  on  the  plea 
that  they  are  but  following  nature  ;  that  the  impulses 
of  nature  are  so  very  strong,  and  that  it  cannot  be 
wrong  to  follow  that  nature  which  God  has  given  us. 
Others  are  bolder  still,  and  cast  off  religion  altogether ; 
they  deny  its  truth  ;  they  deny  Church,  Gospel,  and 
Bible ;  they  go  so  far  perhaps  as  even  to  deny  God's 
governance  of  His  creatures.  They  boldly  deny  that 
there  is  any  life  after  death  ;  and,  this  being  the  case, 
of  course  they  would  be  fools  indeed  not  to  take  their 
pleasure  here,  and  to  make  as  much  of  this  poor  life  as 
they  can." 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  various  classes  with  whom 
he  does  not  intend  to  deal  on  this  occasion,  let  the  reader 
mark,  in  the  next  place,  the  skill  and  clearness  with 
which  the  great  orator  introduces  the  subject  of  his 
discourse: — 


140  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

"And  there  are  others,"  he  continues,  "and  to  these 
I  am  going  to  address  myself,  who  try  to  speak  peace  to 
themselves  by  cherishing  the  thought,  that  something 
or  other  will  happen  after  all  to  keep  them  from  eternal 
ruin,  though  they  now  continue  in  their  neglect  of  God  ] 
that  it  is  a  long  time  yet  to  death;  that  there  are  many 
chances  in  their  favour;  that  they  shall  repent  in 
process  of  time,  when  they  get  old,  as  a  matter  of  course  ; 
that  they  mean  to  repent  some  day  ;  that  they  mean, 
sooner  or  later,  seriously  to  take  their  state  into 
account,  and  to  make  their  ground  good  ;  and,  if  they 
are  Catholics,  they  add,  that  at  least  they  will  die  with 
the  last  sacraments,  and  that  therefore  they  need  not 
trouble  themselves  about  the  matter." 

Not  less  worthy  of  attention  are  the  introductions  to 
the  same  writer's  sermons  on  Purity  and  Love,  God's 
Will  the  End  of  Life,  Nature  and  Grace,  etc.,  etc.* 

Having  introduced  and  sufficiently  explained  the 
general  bearings  of  his  subject  by  means  of  his  introduc- 
tion, the  preacher  passes,  by  a  natural  transition,  to  the 
proposition  or  theme  of  his  discourse.  This  proposition, 
as  we  well  know,  may  be  expressed  in  a  manner  more 
or  less  formal,  as  circumstances  may  require,  or  individual 


*  Discourses  Addressed  to  Mixed  Congregations. 


THE  PREACHER  IN  THE  PULPIT.  141 

tastes  may  suggest.  One  man  will  say,  in  the  driest, 
plainest  way  :  "  Mortal  sin  is  the  greatest  evil  of  the 
world,  and  therefore  we  are  bound  to  avoid  it  by  every 
means  in  our  power;"  whilst  another  will  introduce  pre- 
cisely the  same  substantial  truth  in  a  more  roundabout 
and  less  pedantic  manner.  But,  whatever  method  the 
preacher  may  employ  in  its  enunciation,  and,  if  he  be 
wise,  he  will  avoid  all  excess  of  stiffness  and  pedantry, 
the  proposition  of  the  discourse,  flowing  as  a  natural 
consequence  from  what  has  preceded,  will  be  expressed 
in  a  few,  sharp,  pointed,  and  well-chosen  words,  will  be 
plain,  clear,  and  precise,  stating  the  subject,  the  whole 
subject,  and  nothing  but  the  subject. 

The  preacher  has  now  fairly  entered,  or,  to  speak 
more  correctly,  he  must  be  supposed  to  have  entered, 
upon  his  subject,  and  now  his  difficulties  really  begin. 

We  need  scarcely  say  that  it  is  one  thing  to  be  able 
to  sketch  the  plan  of  one's  discourse,  and  another,  and  a 
very  different  thing,  to  be  able  to  realise  that  plan  and 
reduce  it  to  practice.  And  it  is  in  this  realization,  and 
this  power  of  reducing  our  plan  to  practice,  that  the 
great  difficulty  of  good  extempore  preaching  consists. 
Many  a  man  ascends  the  pulpit  with  the  subject  about 
which  he  is  to  speak  clearly  present  to  his  mind  :  the 
plan  of  his  discourse  has  been  carefully  sketched,  and  is 
in  his  pocket,  or,  perhaps,  on  the  ledge  of  the  pulpit 


142  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

before  his  eyes;  and  he  caDnot,  do  what  he  may,  con- 
trive to  enter  on  this  subject.     It  is  plainly  and  clearly 
in  sight,  and,  yet,  he  cannot  manage  to  lay  his  hand 
upon  it ;  he  cannot  grasp  it  in  a  few  strong,  vigorous 
words,   and    thus   present   it,   living,     breathing,   and 
existent,  to  his  audience.      Hence,  he   continues,   as 
people  say,  to  beat  about  the  bush,  without  ever  setting 
his  foot  within  it ;  he  repeats  the  ideas  of  his  introduc- 
tion until  his  audience  are  tired  of  hearing  them  ;  and 
still,  no  matter  how  often  he  may  repeat  them,  they 
never  serve  to  lead  him  practically  into  the  theme  or 
body  of  his  discourse.     He  contrives  to  obtain  many 
glimpses  of  the  promised  land,  but  he  never  succeeds  in 
entering  it ;  or,  if  he  does  eventually  enter,  it  is  after  so 
much  weary  journeying  through  the  wilderness,  that  he 
is  himself  utterly  unable  to  enjoy  its  beautiful  fertility, 
or   to  render  its  treasures   fruitful   to  the   multitude 
whom  he  has  undertaken  to  lead  into  the  chosen  spot. 
Horace  tells  us  that   the  man  who  has  made  a  good 
beginning  has  half  done  his  work  :  Qui  bene  coepitfacti* 
dimidiuTYi  hahet :   but  the    poet  does  not   tell   us  so 
clearly  hoiv  a  man  is  to  make  this  good  beginning.     As 
it  is  in  this  precisely  that  the  difficulty  consists,  it  will 

*  "  Dimidium  facti,  qui  ccepit,  hahet." — Lib.  i.  Ep.  ii.  Ad 

Sol. 


THE  PREACHER  IN  THE  PULPIT.       143 

be  worth  our  while  to  consider  this  matter  at  some  Httle 
length. 

The  difficulties  which  beset  the  young  preacher  at 
this  point,  and  interfere,  more  or  less  completely,  with 
the  realization  of  his  plan,  may  be  broadly  reduced  to 
two  : — 

I.  The  difficulty  of  seizing  his  subject. 

II.  The  difficulty  of  seizing  his  audience. 


M 

i 

^SP^^i 

1 

M 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT — DIFFICULTY  OF  LAYING 
DOWN  GENERAL  EULES — THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  A  CLEAR 
DIVISION  IN  ENABLING  A  PBEACHER  TO  SEIZE  HIS 
SUBJECT — THE  QUALITIES  OF  A  GOOD  DIVISION  DE- 
DUCED FROM  A  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  OFFICE  AND 
DIGNITY   OF   THE   PREACHER. 


HE  great  difficulty  in  the  preacher's  way  at  this 
point  of  his  discourse  is  to  seize  his  subject,  and  we 
have  already  seen  to  some  extent  what  is  meant  by  this. 
The  preacher,  we  will  suppose,  has  delivered  his  intro- 
duction ;  he  has  announced  the  proposition  or  theme  of 
his  sermon  ;  he  has  arrived  at  the  body  of  his  dis- 
course, and  he  does  not  know  how  to  enter  upon  it ;  he 
cannot  seize  his  subject  and  reduce  it  to  order,  give  life 
to  its  parts,  and  vigorous  action  to  the  whole.  Here  is 
the  first  great  startling  difficulty  in  his  way,  and  the 
question  to  be  considered  is,  how  this  difficulty  may  be 
met  and  conquered  in  the  easiest,  the  most  practical, 
and  the  most  effective  manner. 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT.  145 

You  will  answer  that  his  plan  is  before  him,  and  that, 
as  is  obvious,  he  must  seize  his  subject  through  the 
realization  of  his  plan.  This  is  quite  true,  but  still  the 
difficulty  recurs,  since  his  plan  merely  comprises  lead- 
ing ideas,  and  the  question  is,  how  these  very  ideas 
themselves  are  to  be  realized,  how  they  are  to  be  veri- 
fied, how  the  principle  of  life  is  to  be  infused  into  them, 
how  they  are  to  be  ushered  into  existence,  clad  in  the 
garb  of  strong,  vigorous,  spoken  words. 

It    is    impossible    to    lay    down    any   general   rule 
which   may  apply  to  every  case  alike.     Perhaps  it  is 
impossible  to  lay  down  any  very  strict  rule  on  this 
matter  at  all.     Much  must  be  left  to  individual  capacity 
and  fertility  of  resource,  to  circumstances  of  time,  place, 
and  person.     But  we  may  safely  lay  down  as  a  most 
practical  and  sound  precept  on  this  subject,  that  the 
extemporary  preacher  must  carefully  foresee  and  provide 
for  this  state  of  affairs,  for  what  we  may  call  this  crisis 
in  his  discourse.      He  must  foresee  that  moment  in  his 
discourse,  when,  having  disposed  of  his  introduction, 
and  having  laid  the  theme  or  proposition  of  his  sermon 
clearly  before  his  audience,  he  must  pass  on  at  once  to 
its   consideration,   and   to   the  development  of  those 
arguments,  illustrations,  etc.,  by  which  it  is  to  be  still 
further   explained,  maintained,  and   enforced.     Before 

entering  the  pulpit,  he  must — at  all  events  until  he 

11 


14)6  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

acquire  great  readiness,  confidence,  and  facility — fore- 
see, not  only  the  manner  in  whicli  he  is  thus  to  seize 
his  subject,  but,  to  some  extent,  the  very  words  by 
which  he  will  do  so.     If  he  can  only  gain  this  point,  if 
he  can  only  make  sure  of  this,  he  will  in  all  probability 
have  secured  everything.     The  great  difficulty  in  the 
matter  is  to  make  the  first  plunge.     Timid,  irresolute, 
nervous,  or  ill-prepared  men,  cannot  bring  themselves 
to  make  this  plunge.     They  stand  shivering  on   the 
brink  of   the  uncertain  sea  before   them ;    they    are 
ignorant  of  its  currents ;  they  fear  its  depth  ;  they  are 
wofully   conscious   of    rocks  or   breakers    ahead,   and 
equally  and  painfully  conscious  of  their  own    unpre- 
paredness  to  face  these  hidden  dangers.     The  man  who 
desires  to  succeed  must  provide  against  these  contingen- 
cies.    He  must  sound  the  depths  before  him  ;  he  must 
provide  himself,  as  far  as  prudence  and  skill  may  en- 
able him  to  do  so,    with  the  necessary  protection  and 
preservatives ;  and,   having  done  this,  he  must,  when 
the  moment  arrives,  take  the  plunge  like  a  man.     If 
his  nerves  were  keenly  braced,  if  he  knew  what  he  was 
about,  if  his  faculties  were  all  properly  under  his  con- 
trol, he  will  rise  to  the  surface  after  his  plunge,  calm, 
cool,  self-collected,  and,  what  is  the  great  point,  onaster 
of  his  subject.     There   will  be  no  more  hesitation ;  no 
more  shivering  on  the  brink  •  no  more  futile  efforts  to 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT.  147 

grasp  that  subject  which  is  ever  eluding  his  touch,  which 
is  ever  glancing,  indeed,  before  his  mind's  eye,  but  doing 
so  with  such  fitful  and  uncertain  gleams  of  light,  as  only 
serve  to  lead  him  more  and  more  hopelessly  astray. 

This  happy  result,  this  faculty  of  making  a  start,  and 
of  effecting  a  real  entrance  into  our  subject,  will  be  the 
fruit,  as  is  evident,  much  more  of  self-confidence,  of 
practical,  ready  knowledge  of  what  we  are  about,  and, 
perhaps,  most  of  all,  of  a  little  familiarity  with  the 
pulpit,  than  of  any  dogmatic  rules,  or  of  any  system  of 
teaching.  But  there  is  one  thing  which  will  assist  us 
more  than  any  other  in  the  whole  matter,  one  at  which 
we  have  already  glanced,  and  it  is  this:  a  clear,  natural, 
and  smiple  division  of  the  discourse  which  ive  aspire 
to  deliver. 

Clear,  plain,  practical,  elastic  division  of  the  subject  is, 
as  we  have  frequently  said,  the  backbone  of  all  really  good 
preaching ;  it  is  the  very  essence  and  substance  of  success 
in  extemporary  preaching.  And  although  we  have  dealt 
with  this  matter,  at  least  in  a  limited  and  subordinate 
degree,  when  treating  of  the  Plan  of  a  Discourse  and 
its  essential  qualities,  it  is  of  such  great  and  practical 
importance  to  the  sacred  orator,  and  more  especially  to 
the  extemporary  preacher,  that  we  are  certain  we  shall 
be  pardoned  for  again  returning  to  a  brief  considera- 
tio»  of  it  in  this  place.     Besides,  the  broad  idea  of  the 


148  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

arrangement  of  our  matter,  by  means  of  the  General 
Plan  of  the  discourse,  is  not  precisely  the  same  thing 
as  its  Division. 

There  is  nothing,  then,  like  a  clear,  plain,  practical, 
elastic  division  of  one's  matter  for  enabling  a  preacher 
to  seize  his  subject ;  and  there  is  nothing  like  a  good 
plan  for  enabling  a  man  thus  to  divide  his  matter. 

If  unity  be  the  great  leading  quality  of  every  good 
plan,  it  naturally  follows  that  every  good  discourse  will 
be  reducible  to  a  syllogism^ — we  do  not  say  that  it  will 
be  expressed  in  this  manner — and  it  is  just  in  propor- 
tion as  he  keeps  this  simple  truth  clearly  before  his  mind, 
that  the  preacher  will  be  an  adept  in  seizing  his  subject. 
Let  him  remember  this :  that  his  discourse  is  one ;  that 
it  contains  a  syllogism,  of  which  he  is  to  explain  the 
major,  prove  the  minor,  and  dilate   upon  the  conse- 
quence :  let  him  keep  his  eye  keenly  fixed  upon  this 
truth ;  let  him  never  lose  sight  of  this  dominating  idea ; 
and,  then,  having  secured  this,  let  him  follow  the  bent 
of  his  genius,  the  promptings  of  his   intellect  or  his 
heart,  and  his  success  will  be  secured — he  will  speak 
fluently,  eloquently,  and  well.     If  the  mind  of  such  a 
man  begin  to  wander  in  the  pulpit,  if  distractions  arise, 
or  troublesome  thoughts  obtrude  themselves  upon  him, 
if  he  begin  to  lose  his  hold  upon  his  subject,  if  the  keen 
vision  of  his  mind's  eye  begin  to  grow  dim,  he  has  his 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT.  149 

resource  and  remedy  ready  to  his  hand.  He  has  but  to 
throw  his  eye,  with  one  strong,  quick,  steady  glance, 
backwards  upon  his  subject.  He  has  but  to  ask  him- 
self, "  Where  am  I  now  ?  What  am  I  proving  or  ex- 
plaining just  at  present  ?  Am  I  dealing  with  Scriptural 
arguments,  with  those  taken  from  authority,  or  those 
relying  upon  human  reason  or  experience  for  their 
weight?"  And  his  mind  will  at  once  recover  its  balance, 
his  intellect  will  reassert  its  undiminished  and  unques- 
tioned sway,  and,  once  again,  he  will  stand  before  his 
subject,  its  master  and  its  lord. 

Nor,  does  it  follow  that  because  a  man  has  made  a 
skilful  division  of  the  matter  of  his  discourse,  and 
carries  it  clearly  in  his  mind's  eye,  he  is  there- 
fore to  lay  it  before  his  audience  in  the  same 
shape,  and,  if  you  will,  in  the  same  hard  dry  way  in 
which  he  has  conceived  it.  "  II  faut"  says  Fenelon, 
"  un  ordre,  mais  un  ordrc  qui  ne  soit  point  promis  et 
d^couvert  dh  le  commencement."  This  order,  this 
division  of  his  matter,  let  him  remember,  is  intended 
much  more  for  his  own  guidance,  much  more  to  keep 
him  in  the  straight  path,  than  for  the  benefit,  at  least 
immediately,  of  his  hearers.  According  to  Fenelon,*  the 
most  practically  useful  division  is  that  which,  avoiding 


*    a 


Dial,  sur  TEloq.,"  torn.  10. 


150  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

all  formal  partition  and  pedantic  enunciation  of  the 
matter  of  the  discourse,  nevertheless  carefully  distin- 
guishes all  those  points  which  require  to  be  distin- 
guished, which  assigns  to  each  point  its  own   proper 
place,  and  that  place  the  precise  one  in  which  it  will 
make   the   greatest   impression.     Such  an    order   and 
arrangement  as  this  the  preacher,  at  least,  must  carry 
clearly  and  distinctly  in  his  own  mental  vision,  but  he 
must,  of  course,  also  use  his  discretion  as  to  how  far  he 
will   allow  such    design  and  arrangement   to    become 
manifest  to  his  hearers.      We  do  not  speak  here  of  the 
relative  advantage  or  disadvantage  of  formal  division  in 
regard  to  the  hearer;  we  only  speak  of  it  in  its  relation 
to  the  preacher,  and  the  help  which  it  is  calculated  to 
afford  him  in  his  efforts  to  seize  and  maintain  his  hold 
upon  his  subject.     For  this  latter  purpose  it  is  most 
useful  to  all,  whilst  it  is  absolutely  indispensable  to 
many,  extemporary  preachers.     Without  such  careful 
and  practical  division  of  their  matter,  most  men  wander 
hopelessly  from  the   point,    and   become   lost   in   the 
labyrinths  of  their  own  confusion  and  disorder. 

"  Concionem,"  says  Natalis  Alexander, "  ita  partiatur, 
ut  auditores  omnia  facile  percipiant,  et  memoria  tene- 
ant,  quo  majorem  inde  fructum  referre  possint.  Quam- 
vis  evangelium  integrum  in  modum  homilise  tractet, 
quod  maxima  optandum  est,  et  in  quo  maxime  eniten- 


HOW  TO   SEIZE   THE   SUBJECT.  151 

dum  est,  omnia  tamen  quae  dicturus  est,  revocet  ad  duo 
vel  tria  capita  seu  propositiones,  non  disparatas,  sed  con- 
nexas,  et  ex  eodem  principio  sen  argumento  generali 
diictas,  cujus  unitas  partes  omnes  complectatur.  Siib- 
divisiones  rarae  sint,  et  si  quando  iiant,  intelligantur 
potius  ab  auditore,  quam  a  concionatore  exprimantur, 
et  affectentur."  This  advice  is  of  the  greatest  practical 
utility,  and  it  admits  of  general  application.  No  doubt 
there  are  discourses,  destined  for  unlettered  or  un- 
sophisticated audiences,  so  simple  in  their  nature  and 
their  scope,  as  to  afford  little  room  for  anything  like 
formal  division  of  matter,  less  room  still  for  any  pedantic 
parade  of  such  division  before  our  hearers ;  and  there 
are  other  discourses  which  partake  so  fully  of  the  nature 
of  the  set  sermon,  the  plena  ac  nwnierosa  oratio,  as 
funeral  orations,  etc.,  that  anything  in  the  shape  of  for- 
mal or  constrained  division  would  evidently  and  pal- 
pably interfere  with  that  flow  of  smooth,  graceful,  and 
polished  eloquence  which  is  essential  to  their  success. 
But,  making  all  due  allowance  for  these  and  a  few  other 
obvious  exceptions,  it  is  qaite  certain  that  the  advan- 
tage and  utility  of  a  clear,  orderly,  and  practical  division 
of  the  matter,  in  all  ordinary  sermons,  is  incontestable. 
The  extemporary  preacher  who  endeavours  to  speak 
without  a  previous  careful  arrangement  and  division  of 
his  matter,  is  almost  certain  to  fail,  and  this  for  the  simple 


152  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

reason  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  ordinary  men  to 
"possess"  and  master  their  subject  in  such  circum- 
stances. Fenelon  remarks  that  it  is  very  rare  to  find 
order  and  arrangement  in  the  operations  of  the  mind. 
But,  he  adds,  the  preacher  who,  possessing  this  rare  gift 
of  order,  also  possesses  energy,  power,  and  good  sense, 
will  be  perfect. 

Whilst,  therefore,  he  will  carefully  avoid  the  extreme 
of  formality,  or  constrained  or  inelastic  divisions  ;  whilst 
he  will  use  great  discretion  as  to  the  manner  and  the 
fulness  with  which  he  will  lay  his  division,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  secret  and  naked  skeleton  of  his  discourse, 
before  the  eyes  of  his  audience;  the  extemporary 
preacher  who  desires  not  merely  to  succeed,  but  to  save 
himself  from  failure,  will,  if  he  be  wise,  be  equally 
solicitous  and  careful  ever  to  be  guided,  governed, 
and  controlled  by  order  and  method,  by  a  method 
which  will  arrange  and  put  everything  in  its  own 
proper  place,  and  that  place  the  one  which  reason,  good 
sense,  and  clear  knowledge  and  foresight  of  the  ex- 
igencies of  oratory,  will  suggest  that  it  should  occupy. 

Let  us  repeat  once  more,  the  great  secret  in  this 
matter  is,  never  lose  sight  of  your  subject.  This  is  the 
one  great  dominating  rule  and  principle  which  should 
possess  the  extemporary  preacher,  by  the  aid  of  which 
all  his  views  on  the  formation  and  acquisition  of  ideas, 


HOW  TO  SEI^E  THE   SUBJECT.  153 

on  the  choice  and  arrangement  of  arguments,  on  earnest 
appeals  to  the  heart  and  the  sympathies  of  his  hearers, 
must  be  controlled,  directed,  and  governed.  So  long 
as  he  keeps  this  great  principle  clearly  and  strongly  in 
view,  he  may  give  the  fullest  scope  to  the  impulses  of 
his  genius,  and  to  the  promptings  of  his  heart,  without 
any  fear  that  they  will  lead  him  astray.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  will  only  contribute  to  his  success,  and  to 
the  substantial  reality  of  the  triumph  which  will  reward 
and  crown  his  efforts. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  every  really  orderly 
sermon  will  be,  not  expressed  in,  but  reducible  to,  a 
syllogism.  Let  us  once  more  impress  this  truth  upon 
the  mind  of  the  young  preacher.  Besplas  explains  this 
clearly  and  well.  Every  sermon,  says  he,  is  a  syllo- 
gism, of  which  the  Major  is  contained  in  the  Introduc- 
tion, the  Minor  in  the  Proposition,  the  Arguments  or 
Proofs  in  the  Body  of  the  Discourse,  and  the  Conse- 
quence in  the  Peroration.  Thus,  an  infallible  means  of 
judging  whether  a  discourse  is  in  order,  is  to  reduce 
it  to  a  syllogism.  If  it  be  not  susceptible  of  this  ordeal 
there  is  something  wrong  about  it.  According  to  this 
principle,  he  continues,  the  Leading  Proposition,  or 
Major,  will  be  contained  in  the  Introduction  or  Exor- 
dium ;  and,  although  it  may  easily  admit,  or,  perhaps, 
will  demand,  some  explanation^  it  should  not  require  or 


154  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

call  for  strict  and  logical  proof.  Should  it  do  so,  you 
would  have  begun  to  build  your  house  without  a  foun- 
dation ;  or,  at  all  events,  upon  such  a  weak  and  uncer- 
tain foundation  as  must  prove  infinitely  embarrassing 
to  your  future  efforts.  Your  major  proposition,  there- 
fore, will  be  one  which,  though  it  may  admit  of  expla- 
nation, can  neither  admit  of,  nor  call  for  proof  The 
point  or  points  to  be  proved  will  be  contained  in  the 
Minor  Proposition ;  and  to  their  elucidation  and  sus- 
tainment  the  Body  of  the  Discourse  will  be  devoted. 
This  is  a  great  principle — -this  is  the  secret  of  order ; 
and  yet,  how  many  preachers  are  either  ignorant  of 
this  principle,  or  lose  sight  of  it  in  the  composition  of 
their  sermons  ?  How  much  weariness  and  waste  of 
time,  and  what  great  loss  of  golden  opportunities  for 
glorifying  God  and  serving  souls,  is  the  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  this  ignorance  or  omission  ! 

Let  us,  in  the  light  of  this  principle,  see  how  Mas- 
sillon  proceeds. 

He  has  to  speak,  let  us  say,  of  "  The  Happiness  of  the 
Just"  and  how  does  he  establish  his  proposition  ? 

He  commences  by  laying  down  the  broad,  general 
principle,  that,  "  Those  alone  are  truly  happy  luhofind 
comfort  and  support  in  the  afflictions  of  life"  The 
development  of  this  beautiful  and  leading  idea  serves  as 
the  matter  of  the  exordium. 


HOW   TO   SEIZE   THE   SUBJECT.  155 

But,  he  continues,  "  TJie  just  alone  receive  true  and 
solid  comfott  and  support  in  their  sufferings ;"  and 
this  forms  the  minor  proposition,  containing,  as  is  plain, 
an  assertion  requiring  to  be  proved,  and  supplying  in 
these  proofs  the  foundation  of  all  those  arguments, 
illustrations,  etc.,  which  are  to  constitute  the  body  of 
the  discourse. 

Therefore,  he  concludes,  recapitulating  and  enforcing 
the  great  ideas  of  the  whole  discourse,  "  The  just  alone 
are  truly  happy,  since  they  alone  are  truly  comforted 
and  sustained  in  the  afflictions  of  life." 

The  advantage  of  such  a  division  as  this,  with  all  its 
minor  ramifications  duly  and  clearly  set  forth,  is 
palpable;  and  the  man  who  is  master  of  such  a  valuable 
auxiliary  can  scarcely  fail  to  seize  his  subject,  and  to 
retain  his  hold  upon  it. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  best  and  most 
practical  way  of  dividing  one's  matter  ?  We  answer, 
that  which  each  one  finds  easiest  and  most  useful  to 
himself.  In  "  Sacred  Eloquence  "*  we  have  treated  at 
length  of  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  argu- 
ments, and  have  explained  the  various  methods  of 
arranging  the  matter  of  a  discourse  which  are  laid  down 
by  the  most  eminent  authorities.     The  young  and  in- 

•  Chap,  viii.,  sections  4  and  5,  3rd  edition. 


15G  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

* 

experienced  preacher  will,  no  doubt,  do  well  carefully  to 
study  these  various  methods;  and  he  will  probably 
adopt  that  which  recommends  him  to  arrange  the 
materials  of  the  whole  discourse,  as  well  as  of  each 
individual  part  or  prominent  portion  of  it,  under  two 
or  three  great  leading  heads,  as.  Scripture,  Tradition, 
and  Reason.  But,  after  all,  each  man,  certainly  each 
skilful  and  practised  orator,  will  have  some  plan  or 
method  of  arranging  his  materials  peculiar  to  himself — 
some  plan  which  he  has  acquired  from  the  best  of  all 
masters,  experience — some  plan  which  he  never  saw,  at 
least,  not  just  as  he  employs  it,  in  any  book,  but  which 
he  has  invented  or  drawn  up  for  himself,  and  which 
possesses  this  one  great  incalculable  advantage,  that  it  is 
his  own,  and  that  it  enables  him  to  dispose  his  forces 
with  the  greatest  possible  ease,  readiness,  and  facility  to 
himself,  and  with  the  greatest  utility  and  effect  in  re- 
gard to  the  object  in  view. 

Let  each  one  aim  at  securing  some  method  or 
plan  of  his  own  for  arranging  the  materig-ls  of  his  dis- 
course, and  let  him  stick  to  that.  It  may  be  clumsy, 
inartistic,  too  briefer  too  diffuse  to  bear  critical  exami- 
nation, but  let  him  not  be  uneasy  about  this.  If  it 
suit  him,  and  answer  his  purpose,  practically  and  well, 
this  is  the  great  point,  and  it  will  be  of  more  value  to 
him  than  the  most  elaborate  method  which  could  be 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT.  157 

devised  by  the  skilful  rhetorician.  If  it  render  him 
master  of  his  subject,  if  it  enable  him  to  seize  that 
subject  in  the  fulness  of  its  fruitful  unity,  if  it  pre- 
sent him  with  each  argument,  illustration,  etc.,  of  his 
discourse,  ready  to  his  hand  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  needs  it,  and  if,  whilst  it  does  all  this,  it  still  leaves 
him  suflQciently  free  to  follow  those  inspirations  of  the 
moment  which  are  so  precious  to  the  preacher,  it  is  a 
perfect  Tnethod  for  him,  and  in  it  he  has  secured  an 
auxiliary  which  he  can  never  too  highly  value,  and  which 
he  can  never  too  frequently  employ* 

Let  him  not  be  too  solicitous  about  the  precise 
nature  or  method  of  his  division.  Let  him  only  re- 
member that,  whilst  it  admits  of  the  greatest  liberty, 
and  gives  the  widest  scope  to  individual  capacity  or 
taste,  there  are  some  points  on  which  it  is  inexorable 
— on  which  it  allows  no  latitude. 

It  may  be  long  or  it  may  be  short,  but  it  must  be 
clear,  just,  natural,  and  practical.  These  qualities  are 
simply  essential  to  it ;  without  their  presence  it  cannot 
possibly  attain  its  object — without  them,  in  one  word,  it 
does  not  exist. 

It  must  be  clear ;  its  object  must  be  to  throw  light 
upon  that  which  is  dark  and  obscure,  or  it  is  nothing. 
It  is  our  mission — one  which  we  can  never  sufficiently 
appreciate — one  for  whose    perfect  fulfilment   we  can 


158  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

never  labour  half  enough— to  enlighten  the  world.  We 
are  the  children  of  the  light — Filii  lucis ;  we  are  the 
light  of  the  world — Lux  7)iundi.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
glorious  prerogatives  of  our  high  vocation,  that,  whilst 
the  children  of  the  world  are  condemned  to  walk  in 
darkness — in  tenehris  ambulant — we  are  placed  on  high 
to  shed  the  saving  light  of  life  and  truth  upon  the  be- 
nighted world.  This  is  why  we  are  called  the  ministers 
of  the  light,  the  light  of  the  world.  But  how  9.re  we 
to  enlighten  the  Avorld  ?  Is  it  not  by  our  teaching  ?  Is 
it  not  by  means  of  the  ministry  of  the  word  ?  Is  it  not 
by  laying  before  our  people,  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
plainly,  simply,  and  earnestly,  all  those  truths  which 
they  are  bound  to  know,  and  all  those  virtues  which 
they  are  bound  to  practise.  Docendo,  quce  scire  orani- 
hus  necessarium  est  ad  saluterru.  Is  it  not,  before  all 
things  else,  by  doing  this  clearly  ?  We  have  in  another 
place*  explained  at  great  length  what  is  understood  by 
the  clearness  of  a  Christian  discourse,  and  the  wide  ex- 
tension and  signification  of  that  term.  Here,  it  will 
suffice  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  great  principle  laid 
down  b}^  St.  Prosper :  f  Tarn  simplex  et  apertus  sermo 
debet  esse,  ut  ab  intelligentia  sui  nullos,  quamvis 
imperitos,  excludat ;  and  to  remind  him  too,  that  this 

*  "  Sacred  Eloquence,"  chap,  viii.,  section  2. 
t  Lib.  i.  De  Vit.  Contempl.,  c.  23, 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE   SUBJECT.  159 

end  is  only  gained  by  instruction  which  is  perfectly 
simple  and  clear.  But,  as  it  is  evident,  that  any  ordi- 
nary instruction  will  possess  the  quality  of  clearness, 
just  in  proportion  as  the  method  according  to  which 
the  matter  of  it  is  divided  and  partitioned  out  is 
clear  and  precise,  it  necessarily  follows  that  anything 
like  obscurity  or  confusion  must  be  fatal  to  the  object 
of  division.  It  follows  too,  that  every  division  which  is 
clear  will  arrange  and  partition  out  the  matter  of  the 
discourse  with  such  order,  nicety,  and  precision  as  to 
enable  the  preacher  not  only  to  carry  the  whole  sermon 
in  his  mind  without  danger  of  confusion,  but  to  lay  his 
hand  upon  each  particular  part  at  the  very  moment 
when  he  requires  to  employ  it. 

Is  it  not  certain,  too,  that  the  division  of  a  subject 
will  be  clear  in  proportion  as  it  is  natural  ?  If  a  man 
were  to  lay  down  certain  strict  undeviating  laws  for 
himself,  and  to  say  that,  no  matter  what  the  subject  of 
his  discourse,  or  the  circumstances  of  time,  place,  and 
audience  might  be,  he  would  always  arrange  and  divide 
his  matter  according  to  one  unvarying  rule,  the  result 
would  surely  be  insufferable  stiffness,  and,  in  all  human 
probability,  obscurity  and  confusion.  But,  the  prudent 
and  skilled  orator  proceeds  very  differently  to  this.  He 
knows  well  that  every  subject  naturally  resolves  itself 
into  some  great  leading  points,  or  heads,  or,  whatever 


160  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

you  may  please  to  call  them,  and  having  selected  his 
subject,  and  collected  the  materials  of  his  discourse,  his 
great  anxiety  is  to   discover,   not   according   to   what 
fanciful  and  far-fetched  method  he  may  arrange  them, 
bat  to  discover  and  adopt  those  plain,  simple,  obvious 
divisions,  or  points,  into  which  his  subject  most  naturally 
resolves  itself,  since  he  understands  perfectly  well  that 
these,  forming  the  natural  divisions  of  his  subject,  will 
be  at  once  the  most  just,  and  throw  the  greatest  clearness 
and  light  upon  his  discourse  in  its  varied  bearings.     In 
such  a  division  everything  will  be  in  its  proper  place,  the 
subject  will  be  embraced  in  its  entirety,  neither  more 
nor  less.     Each  point  or  leading  argument  will  be  a 
stepping  stone  to  the  next^  and  will  gather  additional 
force  and  strength  from  its  relation  to  what  has  gone 
before,  and  that  which  is  to  follow  it.     Nothing  will 
stand   alone.     Each  part  will   preserve    its  own  indi- 
viduality intact ;  it  will  not  trench  upon  any  other  por- 
tion of  the  discourse  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  various 
parts  w^ill  possess  such  a  strict  relation  to  one  another 
and  to  the  whole,  as  to  produce  that  perfect  unity  of 
which  we  have  spoken   in  another  place,   that  unity 
which  is,  in  one  sense,  at  once  the  cause  and  effect  of 
harmony  and  proportion. 

Matter  arranged  in  this  manner  must  possess  the 
priceless  quality  of  order  and  clearness ;  and  such  an 


HOW  TO   SEIZE    THE   SUBJECT.  161 

order  or  clearness  of  division  is  of  incalculable  assistance 
to  the  preacher,  in  aiding  him  to  seize  his  subject  and 
retain  his  hold  of  the  same.  It  assists  his  memory  in 
a  wonderful  manner,  helps  him  to  acquire  the  valuable 
habit  of  self-concentration,  keeps  his  mind  from  wan- 
dering, or  enables  him  to  repress  and  recall  it  in  the 
most  effectual  manner.  The  advantage  which  he  will 
derive  from  the  presence  of  such  a  clear,  natural,  and 
well  arranged  division  of  his  matter,  will  far  outweigh 
any  momentary  stiffness  and  formality  which  may 
threaten  to  interfere  with  the  force  and  effect  of  those 
appeals  to  the  sympathies  and  better  feelings  of  an 
audience,  upon  which,  it  is  quite  true,  the  orator  must 
ultimately  rely  so  much  for  the  success  of  his  efforts. 
But,  so  far  from  an  orderly  division  of  matter,  in  the 
purely  instructive  or  argumentative  part  of  a  discourse, 
diminishing  the  effect  of  those  appeals  to  the  passions 
which  have  to  be  made  in  their  own  proper  place,  they 
actually  prepare  the  way,  and  that  in  the  most  practi- 
cal manner,  for  these  appeals.  A  Christian  preacher 
can  never  descend  to  become  a  buffoon  any  more  than 
he  can  descend  to  become  a  mere  mob  orator.  If  he 
aspire  to  move  men's  hearts  to  their  lowest  depths,  and 
most  surely  there  are  many  occasions  during  the  course 
of  his  sacred  ministry  when  he  must  aim  at  this — if  he 
seek,  by  influencing  the  warmest  passions  and  the  keen- 

*      .  12  - 


162  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

est  sympathies  of  his  hearers,  to  win  them  to  his  pur- 
pose and  bend  them  to  his  will — he  must  seek  to  do 
so,  he  must  seek  to  gain  this  result,  as  the  effect  of 
solid  argument,  of  calm,  reflecting  reason.     If  he  were  a 
mere  mob  orator,  he  might,  perhaps,  afford  to  disregard 
the  means  provided  he  attained  his  end ;  it  might  be 
enough  for  him  to  gain  his  purpose  by  blinding  his 
hearers,  by  appealing  to  unworthy  passions,  by  leading 
them  astray.     But,  being  as  he  is,  the  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  ambassador  of  Him  who  is  "  The  Way, 
the  Truth,  and  the  Light,"  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  adopt 
such  means  as  these.     He  must  gain  his  victories,  he 
must  lead  men  into  the  Way,  by  means  of  the  Truth 
and  the  Light.     Let  him  seek  to  move,  since  most  men 
are  gained   to  -God   only  when   they  are  efficaciously 
moved,  but  let  him  not  seek  to  move  until  he  has  first 
thoroughly  enlightened.     Let  him  first  cause  the  rays 
of  God's  beautiful  Truth  to  shine  upon  the  dark  places, 
and,  when  he  has  done  this,  he  will  have  prepared  a 
field,  destined  to  be  rich  and  fruitful,  for  the  action  of 
God's  all-powerful  Grace.     He  may  succeed  in  exciting 
a  momentary  enthusiasm — an  enthusiasm  unworthy  of 
himself,  mischievous  and    useless  to  his  hearers — by 
mere  empty  appeals  to  the  passions,  by  appeals  which 
are  not  founded  upon  solid  argument,  upon  sound  in- 
struction, or  upon  plain  common  sense.     But,  of  this 


HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT.  163 

let  him  be  quite  certain,  that  the  only  efforts  which 
will  be  worthy  of  him  as  a  Christian  minister,  will  be 
those  which  are  built  upon  the  solid  foundation  of  sim- 
plicity and  Christian  truth ;  that  he  will  never  advance 
with  safetv,  or  with  a  rational  assurance  of  solid  fruit 
and  of  enduring  success,  except  when  his  advances  are 
directed,  governed,  and  controlled  by  that  order  which 
is  built  upon  Christian  truth.  Christian  reason,  and 
Christian  good  taste. 

The  division  of  a  discourse  must  possess  another 
quality,  and  one  more  essential  than  any  which  we  have 
yet  considered.  It  must  be  thoroughly  practical.  And 
this  will  be  evident  from  even  the  most  cursory  glance 
at  the  nature  of  the  office  which  we  undertake  to  dis- 
charo^e.  Let  us  remember  with  St.  Ausfustine  that  we 
are  something  more  than  mere  Rhetoricians — ''Ron 
surnus  Rhetores,  sed  Piscatoresy  We  are  fishers  of 
souls.  Let  us  reflect  on  the  significance  of  the  title 
with  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  dignified  our  office. 
It  is  the  ministry  of  the  Word :  viinisterium  Verhi. 
The  minister  of  the  Word  does  not  speak,  as  a  great 
authority  has  eloquently  said,*  in  order  to  tickle  the 
ears  of  his  audience,  or  in  order  to  frame  uncommon 
phrases.      He   simply    speaks   in   order    to   fulfil   his 

*  "Entretiens  sur  la  PrMication  Populaire."    Dupanloup. 


164  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

ministry — a  ministry  the  most  grave  and  the  most  im- 
portant; a  ministry  of  action  and  of  life;  a  ministry 
which  is  to  tell  upon  souls,  but  which  requires  the  co- 
operation of  those  souls ;  which  is  to  produce  its  effect, 
at  least  to  some  extent,  by  the  aid  of  human  means,  by 
conviction  and  persuasion.  Such  a  ministry  must  be  a 
living  ministry — it  must  be  pregnant  with  life  and 
light.  Its  object  is  to  vivify — Eloquium  tuum  vivijicat 
me — to  animate  souls  with  the  principle  of  life,  to  impart 
to  those  souls,  and  to  nourish  within  them,  the  life  of 
faith,  and  of  grace;  to  cause  them  to  live  the  life  of 
virtue,  and  of  morality,  or  to  strengthen  and  confirm 
these  essential  qualities  of  Christian  being,  if  they  have 
already  been  born  within  the  soul.  This  amelioration, 
this  elevation,  this  vivification  of  souls,  as  the  same  dis- 
tinguished writer  remarks,  is  not  one  of  those  exterior 
works  which  are  accomplished  by  human  means.  On 
the  contrary,  this  is  one  of  those  works  which,  being 
essentially  in  the  moral  order,  have  their  basis  of  opera- 
tion, and  produce  their  effects,  in  the  hidden  depths  of 
the  soul.  It  is  a  work  of  intelligence  and  of  light,  of 
persuasion,  and  of  love ;  and,  hence,  discarding  merely 
natural  means,  it  relies  for  its  results  upon  the  living 
and  the  searching  word  of  God :  Sermo  Dei  vivus  et 
efficax. 

From  all  this  it  follows,  that  as  the  Pastor,  in  order  to 


HOW   TO   SEIZE  THE   SUBJECT.  1G5 

fulfil  the  obligations  of  his  high  ministry,  must  be  a 
man  of  action,  a  man  of  thought,  a  man  of  prayer — in 
brief,  a  man  powerful  in  word  and  work  :  Potens  verho 
et  opere :  so,  the  word  which  he  preaches  must  be 
eminently  practical,  not  beating  the  air  with  empty  and 
uncertain  sounds,  but,  on  the  contrary,  clear,  precise, 
and  tending  directly  to  the  desired  end. 

The  true  Pastor,  the  true  fisher  of  souls,  speaks  im- 
mediately, directly,  and  essentially  to  his  hearers.  The 
whole  end,  object,  and  scope  of  his  preaching,  is 
to  make  his  hearers  better  men,  to  induce  them  to 
practise  virtue,  to  avoid  vice,  and,  by  doing  this,  to 
save  their  souls.  But,  salvation  is  not  attained  by 
mere  belief,  by  empty,  barren  faith.  It  is  the  fruit 
of  good  works,  of  faith  working  through  charity,  of 
Christian  belief  manifesting  itself  in  Christian  practice. 
Hence,  every  sermon  worthy  of  the  name,  naturally  and 
necessarily  aims  at  some  practical  result  to  be  produced 
upon  the  souls  of  the  hearers  ;  and,  hence,  the  division 
of  every  really  practical  discourse,  will  embrace  some- 
thino^  to  be  done,  or  somethins:  to  be  avoided.  A  ser- 
mon  without  some  tangible,  practical  result,  is  a  sermon 
without  fruit,  and  a  sermon  will  almost  infallibly  be 
cursed  with  this  barrenness  and  sterility,  unless  its 
division  contain  some  plain  practical  points,  clearly 
marked  out  and  defined,  to  be  laid  before  the  people ; 


166  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

some  points  which  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  have  a 
direct  and  necessary  influence  upon  the  amendment  of 
men's  lives,  the  correction  of  their  vices,  or  their  progress 
in  solid  Christian  virtue.  As  in  the  formation  of  the 
general  plan  of  his  discourse,  so,  still  more  in  the  par- 
ticular division  of  his  matter,  let  the  preacher  ask 
himself,  again  and  again,  that  question,  full  of  such  im- 
portant influences  on  the  success  of  his  efforts  :  What 
is  it,  precisely,  that  I  am  about  to  propose  to  my 
hearers  ?  What  am  I  about  to  ask  of  them  ?  By  what 
means  do  I  intend  to  gain  my  end,  and  win  my  audience 
to  my  will  ? 

Such  are  some  of  the  great  leading  ideas  which,  it 
appears  to  us,  the  preacher  should  keep  most  carefully 
before  his  mind  when  dividinsf  the  matter  of  his  dis- 
course,  and  by  the  aid  of  which  he  will  most  effectually 
seize  his  subject.  Let  him  not  aim  at  doing  too  much. 
Let  him  avoid  being  too  formal  and  precise ;  let  him 
content  himself  with  those  two  or  three  strong  and 
vigorous  members  into  which  every  strong  and  vigorous 
subject  most  naturally  resolves  itself  These  members 
may,  perchance,  seem  somewhat  rugged  and  unpolished 
in  their  homely  strength ;  but,  if  they  be  really  strong, 
that  will  be  enough.  The  mantle  of  their  strength 
will  amply  cover  and  condone  what  may  be  wanting  to 
their  perfect  comeliness  of  form  and  shape.     Above  all, 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  SUBJECT.  167 

let  him  avoid  useless  subdivisions,  and  tedious  hair- 
splittings of  his  subject.  However  viseful  it  may  be  in 
a  purely  controversial  or  philosophical  treatise,  or,  how- 
ever much  it  may  have  been  employed  in  other  times, 
^  the  spirit  of  our  age,  and  the  best  practice  of  our  pul- 
pit, is  altogether  against  the  use  of  profuse  subdivision 
of  a  subject  in  sacred  oratory.  As  an  ordinary  rule, 
instead  of  throwing  light  upon  a  subject,  the  only  con- 
ceivable purpose  for  which  they  can  be  employed,  sub- 
divisions surround  and  envelop  it  with  darkness  and 
obscurity,  whilst  they  weaken  and  depress  instead  of 
elevating  and  dignifying  it.  As  Quintilian  says,  useless 
or  profuse  subdivisions  of  a  subject  are  the  most  certain 
way  of  producing  that  obscurity  which  it  is  precisely 
the  object  of  order  and  arrangement  to  prevent.  They 
do  more  than  this :  depriving  a  discourse  of  that  broad- 
ness of  view,  and  that  massive  dignity  of  proportion, 
which  are  at  once  the  source  and  the  result,  as  they 
are  the  surest  marks,  of  true  strength,  superfluous  sub- 
divisions fritter  a  discourse  away  to  nothing,  thus  ren- 
dering it  inefficacious  to  its  end,  which  is  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  ignorant  and  the  amendment  of  the 
erring ;  and  unworthy  of  him  who  is  the  minister  of 
the  Light  no  less  than  of  the  Truth — of  him  whose 
ministry  must  be  fruitless  and  dead  unless  it  is  potent 
to  lead  his  flock,  safely,  surely,  and  easily,  into  the 


168  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

blessed  Way  of  Life,  through  the  blessed  and  saving 
influences  of  the  Light  and  the  Truth. 

In  fine,  let  us  remark  that  this  question  of  division, 
or  practical  arrangement  of  matter,  has  reference  to 
each  point,  to  each  leading  or  subordinate  argument, 
of  which  the  whole  discourse  may  be  made  up.  It  is 
in  this  precisely  that  the  difference  between  the  plan 
of  a  discourse  and  its  division  consists.  The  plan  has 
reference  to  the  whole  discourse  in  a  broad  general 
way.  The  division  applies  to  the  whole  discourse  in 
general,  but  it  also  applies,  in  a  precise  and  particular 
manner,  to  each  portion  of  it,  that  is,  to  each  leading 
portion  or  member.  One  of  the  great  objects  of  the 
division,  the  one  which  we  have  just  considered  at  such 
length,  is  to  assist  the  preacher  to  secure  in  the  easiest 
and  most  telling  way  the  perfect  realization  of  his  plan 
in  its  entirety,  and  of  each  portion  of  his  discourse  in 
its  individuality.  We  mention  this  matter  here,  since 
it  is  well  that  the  reader  should  keep  this  distinction 
clearly  before  his  mind,  otherwise  he  may  confuse 
ideas  and  principles  which  would  be  better  kept  se- 
parate. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE — THE  POWER  OF  SEIZING 
OUR  AUDIENCE  IS  ABSOLUTELY  NECESSARY  TO  PER- 
FECT SUCCESS — IN  WHAT  THIS  POWER  CONSISTS — 
THE  CHRISTIAN  ORATOR  MUST  KNOW  HOW  TO  TEACH 
AND  TO  MOVE,  HOW  TO  APPEAL  TO  THE  INTELLECT 
AND  THE  HEART — INSTRUCTION  AND  ARGUMENTA- 
TION, THEIR  FORCE,  NATURE,  AND  ESSENTIAL  QUA- 
LITIES. 


T    has  been  well  remarked  that  it  not  infre- 
quently happens  that  a  preacher  speaks  at  his 
hearers  without  ever  actually  speaking  to  them. 

This  may  arise  from  various  causes.  A  man  loses 
siglit  of  his  special  audience,  with  its  special  needs  and 
its  special  circumstances ;  he  has  no  one,  in  particular, 
in  view  in  what  he  says,  any  more  than  he  has  any 
plain,  precise,  and  definite  object  clearly  before  him; 
he  speaks  of  vague  generalities,  in  a  vague  general  way, 
which  would  apply  to  any  audience  equally  as  well  as 
to  the  one  he  addresses.      Instead  of  speaking  and 


170  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

addressing  himself  to  the  audience  before  him — instead 
of  applying  himself  to  the  consideration  of  its  moral 
being,  probing  its  wounds,  and  applying  the  special 
remedies  which  those  wounds  may  require,  he  addresses 
himself  to  somiO  shadowy  phantom  which  has  been 
called  into  life  by  himself,  and  which  has  no  real 
existence  outside  his  own  brain.  In  a  word,  his  sermon 
has  no  closer  practical  application  to  any  particular 
audience,  than  the  discourses  which  are  delivered,  prin- 
cipally as  a  literary  exercise,  by  a  student  in  college. 
Perhaps  it  is  even  more  deficient  in  practical  applica- 
tion. The  result  is,  that  his  sermon,  being  devoid  of 
•the  principle  of  energy  and  life,  wanting  special  direc- 
tion equally  with  practical  application,  falls  cold  and 
dead  upon  the  ears  and  the  hearts  of  an  unmoved  and 
unsympathising  audience ;  the  result  is,  that  whilst  a 
man  may  succeed,  perhaps  perfectly,  in  seizing  his  sub- 
ject, he  may  fail,  utterly  and  completely,  in  seizing  his 
,audience. 

Ill  the  course  of  this  essay  we  have  broached  so  many 
iof  the  difficulties  which  assail  the  preacher,  that  we 
almost  shrink  from  approaching  the  consideration  of 
another.  It  may  seem  to  some  that  our  object  is  to 
raise  up  giants  for  the  pleasure  of  demolishing  them. 
But  it  is  not  so.  The  road  we  have  to  travel  is  beset 
with  difficulties;  and,  although   we  venture  to  hope 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE    AUDIENCE.  171 

that  we  have  by  this  time  succeeded  in  clearing  a  good 
many  of  them  out  of  the  young  preacher's  way,  there 
still  remains  one,  so  practical  and  so  formidable,  that 
we  can  neither  afford  to  despise  nor  to  pass  it  by,  with^ 
out  careful  study  and  attention.  We  shall  notice  it, 
however,  as  briefly  as  possible. 

There  is  perhaps  no  preacher,  certainly  no  one  with 
much  practice  in  preaching,  who  has  not  had  some  ex? 
perience  of  days  on  which  everything  seems  to  go 
wrong  with  him.  No  matter  how  carefully  he  may 
have  selected  the  subject  of  his  discourse ;  no  matter 
how  diligently  he  may  have  studied  it;  no  matter  how 
earnestly  and  zealously  he  may  have  striven  to  imbue 
himself  with  the  spirit  and  the  sentiments  appropriate 
to  the  occasion;  it  has  all  been  of  little  or  no  use. 
His  words  have  fallen  idly  and  coldly  upon  the  ears  of 
an  audience  whom  all  his  efforts  have  failed  to  rouse, 
or  to  excite  into  anything  like  warmth  or  enthusiasm  ; 
an  audience  whose  mere  attention  perhaps  he  has  not 
succeeded  in  arresting  and  maintaining.  On  days  such 
as  these,  and  they  occur  in  the  life  of  every  preacher^ 
he  seems  to  be  pressed  to  the  earth  by  a  relentless  an 4 
overpowering  hand ;  and,  after  struggling  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  time  with  the  adverse  circumstances  which 
surround  and  master  him,  he  is  fain  to  descend  from 
the  pulpit,  oppressed  by  the  conviction,  as  evident  as  it 


172  EXTEMPOKARY   PREACHING. 

is  painful,  that  he  has  produced  no  result;  that  his 
efforts,  so  far  at  least  as  they  may  be  weighed  in  human 
balances,  have  been  thrown  away ;  that  he  has  moved 
no  man's  heart,  perhaps  not  even  convinced  any  man's 
intellect ;  that,  in  one  word,  he  has  never  for  a  moment 
mastered  the  position,  but  that  the  whole  thing,  to  use 
a  plain,  hard  phrase,  has  been  a  failure. 

But  there  have  been  days — the  "  red-letter  "  days  of 
the  true  orator — when  it  has  been  quite  different  with 
him.  There  have  been  days  when  the  sacred  fire  has 
blazed  up  keenly  and  brightly  within  his  soul ;  wdien 
his  voice,  and  his  eye,  and  his  heart,  have  answered 
promptly  and  readily,  with  keen  instinct,  and  with 
eager  impulse,  to  the  demand  of  those  who,  sitting  at 
his  feet,  have  hung  upon  his  words ;  of  those  who,  with 
their  eyes  riveted  upon  his  face,  have  communed  with 
him,  soul  to  soul,  in  that  unspoken  but  most  eloquent 
language,  whose  mystic  power  may  be  felt  at  such  a 
■time  with  a  responsive  throb,  but  can  never  be  de- 
scribed. On  such  days  as  these,  the  flash  of  his  eye 
has  been  enough  to  inflame  the  hearts  of  his  audience ; 
the  mere  upraising  of  his  hand  has  been  enough  to 
hold  them  spell-bound.  On  these  days  he  has  stood 
before  his  audience,  in  the  fullest,  deepest  sense  of  the 
word,  their  master  and  their  ruler.  They  have  hung 
entranced  upon  the  words  of  his  mouth.     They  have 


HOW   TO    SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  173 

been  powerless  before  the  force  of  his  reasoning,  the 
fascination  of  his  manner,  the  magic  of  his  voice,  the 
depth  and  the  vehemence  of  his  passion.  They  have 
been  moved  in  the  deepest  recesses  of  their  moral  being, 
and  in  the  most  hidden  corners  of  their  hearts.  The 
preacher  has  realized  to  the  full  his  position  as  Pastor 
and  as  Man,  and  hence  he  has  spoken  to  them  in  the 
very  language  of  nature,  of  nature  ennobled  and  ex- 
alted by  religion  and  faith.  His  success  on  such  occa- 
sions has  been  perfect  and  complete,  simply  because  it 
has  had  its  foundation  in  that  mutual  sympathy,  that 
mutual  action  of  soul  upon  soul,  which  is  perhaps  so 
rarely  found,  at  least  in  the  perfection  of  its  fulness, 
but  which,  when  it  once  exists  between  a  preacher  and 
his  audience,  renders  success  easy,  triumphant,  and 
complete.  In  one  word,  on  such  days  as  these  he  has 
mastered  the  position  fully  and  entirely ;  he  has  not 
only  done  wdiat  it  is  in  the  power  of  every  man  of  ordi- 
nary attainments  and  industry  to  do^seize  his  subject 
— but  he  has  succeeded  in  achieving  a  much  more  im- 
portant victory,  and  one  which  is  much  more  rarely 
gained — he  has  seized  his  audience. 

It  is  much  easier  to  dilate  on  the  importance  to 
the  preacher  of  being  able  to  seize  his  audience,  than  to 
show  precisely  in  what  this  power  consists,  or  how  it  is 
to  be  exercised.     But,  as  it  is  in  this  that  the  secret  of 


174  EXTEMPOKARY  PREACHING. 

success  consists  much  more  than  in  anything  else,  we 
must  necessarily  devote  some  little  attention  to  the 
matter,  more  especially  as  the  tendency  of  our  studies 
up  to  this  point  has  undoubtedly  been  in  the  direction 
of  stiffness  and  formality,  and  we  must  candidly  admit 
that  if  the  young  preacher  were  to  content  himself  with 
mastering  and  applying  the  principles  which  we  have 
hitherto  striven  to  establish,  the  result  would  probably 
be  to  make  him,  perhaps  a  very  precise  and  methodical 
preacher,  but  certainly  not  a  very  graceful  or  pleasing 
one. 

It  is  one  thing,  then,  to  seize  our  subject,  and  an- 
other, and  a  very  different  thing,  to  seize  our  audience. 
And  a  man  may  seize  and  master  his  subject  thoroughly, 
and  yet  lose  the  greater  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  his 
labours,  through  his  inability  to  seize  his  audience. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  meant  by  seizing  our 
audience,  and  how  is  it  to  be  accomplished  ? 

The  power  of  seizing  our  audience  is  simply  the 
power  of  speaking  to  their  hearts  and  of  arresting  their 
attention — the  power  of  causing  ourselves  to  be  attended 
to.  There  are  some  men  who  have  but  to  open  their 
lips  and  the  whole  congregation  hangs  entranced  upon 
their  utterances.  It  may  be  the  charm  and  fascinatioi 
of  manner,  or  it  may  be  the  eloquence  and  passionate 
warmth  of  the  language,  or  it  may  be,  what  perhaps  i» 


HOW  TO   SEIZE    THE   AUDIENCE.  175 

strongest  and  most  powerful  of  all,  the  secret  but  invin- 
cible influence  which  lurks  in  the  tones  of  the  sympa- 
thetic voice  ;  but,  whatever  it  may  be,  it  is  a  something 
which  rivets  the  attention,  which  absorbs  the  faculties, 
which  hushes  every  tongue  and  stills  every  restless 
movement,  which  attracts  every  eye  to  the  face  of  him 
who  speaks,  which  causes  every  heart  to  beat  in  unison 
with  that  of  the  speaker,  which,  in  one  word,  causes 
him  to  be  attended  to  with  pleasure  and  parted  from 
with  regret.  The  man  who  is  master  of  this  power  is 
master  of  a  great  gift ;  no  man  can  be  an  orator  with- 
out it ;  and  it  is  something  very  different  from  the 
mere  power  of  seizing  the  subject.  The  latter  is,  or  at 
least  may  be,  to  a  great  extent  mechanical,  and  the 
result  of  mere  patient  industry  and  practice ;  the  former 
will  always  have  something  of  genius  and  passion  in  its 
composition,  will  always  be  inspired,  at  least  in  some 
measure  and  degree,  by  the  sacred  fire  which  is  as 
much  the  inheritance  of  the  true  orator  as  of  the  poet. 

And  now,  it  may  be  fairly  asked  how  is  this  end,  so 
desirable  and  so  valual)le,  to  be  attained,  and  what 
practical  means  are  to  be  employed  in  its  acquisition. 

It  is  evident  that  the  power  of  seizing  our  audience 
is  nothing  more  than  the  power  of  unfolding  our  sub- 
ject in  a  clear,  forcible,  attractive,  and  winning  manner. 
Up  to  a  certain  point  in  their  sermon,  any  two  men 


17G  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

who  have  carefully  prepared  the  plan  of  their  discourse, 
are  on  an  equal  footing.  Both  are  in  possession  of  a 
plan,  and  both,  let  us  suppose,  have  been  equally  suc- 
cessful in  seizing  the  subject.  But  it  is  not  enough  to 
seize  the  subject;  they  must  also  be  able  to  unfold  it, 
and  bring  it  home  to  the  minds  and  hearts  of  their 
hearers,  and  here  they  part  company.  One  of  these 
men  cannot,  do  as  he  will,  realize  his  plan,  make  it 
practical  to  his  hearers,  render  it  attractive  to  them, 
and  pregnant  with  influence  on  the  amendment  of 
their  lives  and  manners.  The  other  succeeds  perfectly 
in  this :  he  causes  himself  to  be  attended  to,  his  teach- 
ing is  received  with  reverent  and  ready  respect,  whilst 
his  admonitions,  his  exhortations,  and  reproofs,  produce 
their  full  effect,  and  bring  forth  abundant  fruit  unto 
everlasting  life.  One  man  can  unfold  his  subject,  and 
the  other  is  unable  to  do  so. 

To  be  able,  then,  to  unfold  our  subject,  to  develop 
and  realize  our  plan,  so  as  to  bring  it  home  to  every 
mind  and  to  every  heart,  is  plainly  a  matter  of  the 
utmost  importance,  and  one  upon  which  perfect  success 
in  preaching  must  ultimately  depend. 

We  say  ^perfect  success,  for  a  man  may  propose  to 
himself  an  end  in  preaching  which  is  really  no  end  at 
all,  just  as  he  may  produce  a  discourse  which  is  not 
really  a  sermon.     Many  of  the  so-called  sermons  of  the 


HOW   TO  SEIZE  THE   AUDIENCE.  177 

day  are  nothing  more  than  thebaLlest  and  most  meagre 
of  theological  instructions.  Others  are  merely  polished 
and  scholarly  essays  on  some  religions  subject,  handled  in 
a  perfectly  cool  and  gentlemanly  way,  but  without  any 
other  definite  object  than  the  production  of  the  essay 
itself,  or  the  decent  filling  up  of  a  certain  portion  of  the 
services  of  the  Church.  Such  discourses  rarely  aim  at 
anything  higher  than  the  scholarly  quotation  and  treat- 
ment of  a  certain  text,  w'hich,  as  Jeremy  Taylor  observes, 
is  a  very  inconclusive>  and  a  very  dry  way  of  dealing  with 
a  subject.  And  such  a  way  of  treating  a  subject  can 
never  result  in  the  production  of  a  sermon. 

For  what  is  a  sermon  ?  A  sermon  is,  of  its  nature,  a 
persuasive  oration,  and  its  ultimate  object  is,  not  to 
discuss  some  abstract  point,  or  some  metaphysical  truth, 
not  to  convince  our  hearers  that  they  are  bound  to 
become  better  men,  but  to  persuade  them,  really  and 
efficaciously,  to  do  so.*  And,  if  such  be  the  nature 
and  the  object  of  a  sermon,  does  it  not  follow  that 
perfect  success  in  preaching  can  only  be  gained  when  the 
subject  of  the  discourse  has  been  so  unfolded  and 
developed  as  to  be  brought  home  to  every  intellect  and 
to  every  heart  ?  Does  it  not  follow  that  w^e  shail  only 
succeed  in  seizing  our  audience  just  in  proportion  as 
w^e  are  enabled  to  enlighten  the  intellect  and  to  move 

*  "Sacred  Eloquence,"  cLaj).  ix.  sec.  i.  at  seq. 

13 


178  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

the  heart  ?  Does  it  not  follow  that  perfect  success  in 
the  development  of  our  plan  simply  means  perfect  suc- 
cess in  teaching  aud  in  moving  our  hearers  1 

To  be  able,  then,  to  seize  our  audience,  we  must,  let 
us  repeat  once  more,  be  able  to  instruct  them,  and  to 
move  them  ;  to  influence  the  intellect  and  the  heart. 
And  our  success  in  thus  seizing  them  will  be  measured 
by  the  degree  in  which  we  possess,  more  or  less  per- 
fectly, these  precious  faculties. 

The  body,  or  substantial  part  of  every  discourse,  will 
be  taken  up  with  the  work  of  instruction,  in  the  broad 
and  general  meaning  of  the  word  as  applied  to  sacred 
oratory,  that  is,  with  instruction  embracing  a  clear  ex- 
planation of  the  Christian  doctrine,  and  the  sustainment 
of  the  same  by  sound  and  solid  reasoning. 

Hence,  the  first  step  towards  success  in  seizing  our 
audience  depends  upon  our  power  of  explaining  the 
doctrine  which  we  preach. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  in  this  place  upon  the 
necessity  which  lies  in  these  days  on  every  true  pastor 
of  souls,  of  explaining  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  of  in- 
structing his  people  solidly,  clearly,  and  well  in  all  those 
truths  which  they  are  bound  to  know,  and  all  those 
virtues  which  they  are  bound  to  practise  ?*  That  we 
live  in   days    in   which    ignorant    self-sufficiency   and 


«  « 


Sacred  Eloquence." 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  179 

flagrant  dereliction  of  duty  go  hand  in  hand,  is  a  truth 
which,  unfortunately,  requires  no  confirmation.  It  will 
be  more  to  the  point  to  inquire  how  we  may  best  dis- 
charge a  duty  at  once  so  important  in  itself  and  so 
intimately  connected  with  our  success. 

The  talent  of  instructing  the  people,  and  of  explain- 
ing the  Christian  doctrine,  can  hardly  be  over-rated ; 
and  it  is  one  which  is  more  rarely  possessed  than  may 
at  first  sight  appear.  The  only  thoroughly  good  teacher 
or  instructor  is  the  man  who  is  able  to  adapt  his  teach- 
ing closely,  pertinently,  and  effectively,  to  the  intelli- 
gence, capacity,  and  special  necessities  of  the  persons 
whom  he  addresses,  hie  et  nunc,  as  it  is  said.  But, 
here  precisely  is  the  difficulty.  It  is  easy  enough  to 
compose  an  instruction  in  the  abstract,  and  this  is  just 
what  most  men  do.  They  deliver  vague,  general,  and 
unpractical  discourses — discourses  which  have  no  special 
application  to  any  really  special  audience,  but  which 
are  just  as  well  adapted  to  one  congregation  as  to  an- 
other. But  what  is  needed  is,  not  instruction  in  the 
abstract,  but  instruction  in  the  concrete ;  in  other  words, 
instruction,  every  word  of  which  shall  have  special  and 
positive  reference  and  application  to  the  very  people  to 
whom  it  is  addressed.  And  this  is  the  real  difficulty. 
It  is  so  hard  to  get  a  man  to  understand  this  matter ; 
harder  still  to  get  him  intimately  to  appreciate  it.     It 


180        •  EXTEMPORARY   FREACHIXG. 

is  SO  hard  to  get  many  men  to  understand  that  true 
eloquence  does  not  consist  in  mere  grace  of  style,  or  in 
elegant  figures  of  speech ;  but  that  it  is  simply  the 
power  of  acting  upon  and  influencing  the  minds  and 
the  hearts  of  men,  and  that,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
the  first  condition  of  being  eloquent  consists  in  putting 
ourselves,  in  some  sense,  on  a  level  with  those  to  whom 
we  speak,  that  thus  we  may  address  ourselves  most 
clearly  to  their  intellectual  capacity,  and  most  power- 
fully to  their  emotions  and  feelings.  No  language  is 
eloquent,  in  the  concrete,  which  does  not  accomplish 
this  end  ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  get  a  young  preacher  to 
admit  this  principle,  or  reduce  it  to  practice.  A  young 
preacher  shrinks  from  employing  that  simple  language, 
and  that  still  more  simple  style,  which  alone  are  intelli- 
gible to  the  uneducated  audience  whom  it  may  be  his 
duty  to  instruct;  and  thus,  forgetting  that  language 
has  been  primarily  given  to  man  as  the  vehicle  of  com- 
municating his  ideas  to  his  fellow-men,  whilst  he 
labours  to  be  elegant  he  simply  becomes  unintelligible 
and  obscure.  Or,  as  likely  as  not,  he  fails  to  compre- 
hend and  to  master  the  intellectual  difficulties  of  his 
simple  flock.  Everything  is  clear  and  plain  to  him, 
and  he  at  once  concludes  that  it  is  the  same  with  those 
who  listen  to  him.  He  does  not  appreciate  the  fact 
that  it  requires  most  careful  study,  and  no  ordinary 


HOW  TO    SEIZE  THE  AUDIEXCE.  181 

amount  of  patience,  of  tact,  and  of  reflection,  to  address 
an  uncultivated  and  uneducated  audience  with  profit 
and  success.  Many  men  fail  to  understand  and  appre- 
ciate these  ideas,  and  hence  the  talent  of  "  teaching  "  is 
so  rarely  met  with.  But,  if  we  desire  to  seize  our 
audience,  we  must  persuade  ourselves  that  the  power 
of  teaching  and  instructing  them  is  one  of  our  most 
effective  means  of  doing  so ;  and  we  must  equally  per- 
suade ourselves  that  we  shall  never  become  eood 
teachers  except  by  the  careful  observance  of  certain 
conditions  which  are  radically  opposed  to  the  defects 
at  which  we  have  just  glanced. 

The  man  who  would  render  his  instruction  at  once 
useful  and  attractive,  must  be  content  to  walk  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  divine  Lord  and  Master.  When  Jesus 
Christ  addressed  the  crowds  who  flocked  around  His 
sacred  feet,  it  was  not  in  high-flown  language,  or  in 
far-fetched  figures  of  speech  :  on  the  contrary,  He  spoke 
in  the  most  simple  and  familiar  manner.  The  words 
which  He  employed  are  clear  and  plain,  whilst  His  dis- 
courses contain  many  short  maxims  easy  to  retain  and 
full  of  substance.  When  it  is  necessary  to  descend  to 
the  level  of  His  hearers.  He  does  not  hesitate  to  do  so. 
He  condescends  to  employ  the  most  homely  compari- 
sons, and  the  most  striking,  because  the  most  familiar, 
illustrations.     The  disciple  must  not  seek  to  be  above 


182  ESTEMPORABY  PREACHIKG. 

his  master,  but  must  be  content  to  walk,  at  an  humble 
distance,  in  His  sacred  footsteps.  Nor  let  tbe  young 
preacher  fear,  lest  in  striving  to  be  simple,  he  incur 
the  risk  of  degrading  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit.  If  he 
study  the  sermons  of  Dr.  Newman  and  other  great 
masters  of  the  language,  he  will  find,  for  his  comfort 
and  consolation,  that  the  utmost  simplicity  of  expression 
is  compatible  with  the  greatest  dignity  and  purity  of  style. 
Let  him  only  be  simple ;  let  him  guard  against  the 
fatal  error  of  supposing  that,  because  he  may  have  to 
speak  on  a  familiar  subject,  or  to  an  unlettered 
audience,  he  can  therefore  dispense  with  studious  and 
diligent  preparation  ;  let  him  be  careful  to  select  such 
plain  and  practical  subjects  as  are  within  the  capacity 
of  his  hearers;  let  him  employ  no  comparison  or 
example,  no  illustration,  sacred  or  profane,  which  is  not 
easily  intelligible  to  any  ordinary  intellect;  let  his 
narrations  be  interesting  and  appropriate  to  the  subject, 
lively,  and  full  of  vigour ;  and  let  him  not  be  sparing  in 
their  use,  since  a  judicious  employment  of  histories, 
parables,  and  examples,  is  one  of  the  most  powerful 
ways  of  interesting  an  audience,  and  of  retaining  their 
attention ;  and  he  will  have  done  much,  and  made 
very  decided  progress  in  that  difficult  undertaking — 
the  power  of  seizing  his  audience  and  causing  himself 
to  be  attended  to. 


HOW  TO   SEIZE   THE    AUDIENCE.  183 

In  doing  this  he  will  have  done  much,  but,  unfor- 
tunately, he  will  not  have  done  everything.  There 
have  been  ages  of  the  Church,  ages  of  faith  and  of 
simple  piety,  in  which  it  was  enough  to  instruct  and  to 
exhort.  But  these  ages,  alas  1  have  passed  away,  and 
we  live  in  times  of  a  very  different  character ;  in  times 
which  are  full  of  troubles  peculiar  to  themselves ;  in 
times  which  bring  with  them  their  own  peculiar  duties 
and  oblio^ations.  We  live  in  times  in  which  scoffingr 
impiety  and  unbelief  are  rampant  in  the  land  ;  in 
which  faltering  professions,  and  half-hearted  faith,  have 
hardly  shame  enough  remaining  to  them  to  cause  them 
to  hide  themselves  away  in  silence  and  obscurity.  The 
Protestantism  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  infidel 
philosophy  of  later  ages,  are  now  receiving  their  full 
development  in  the  terrible  spirit  of  indifferentism,  if 
not  of  positive  unbelief,  which  is  the  curse  of  the  times 
in  which  we  live.  The  powers  of  earth  and  of  hell 
have  taken  counsel  together  ao^ainst  the  Lord  and 
against  His  Christ,  and  they  are  able  to  work  with  a 
fulness  of  means,  with  an  abundance  of  money,  with  a 
control  over  all  the  paraphernalia  and  machinery  of  a 
propagandism  at  once  most  active  and  most  powerful, 
which  renders  their  efforts  as  bold  as  they  are  unceas- 
ing. No  class  is  safe  from  their  attacks  :  youth  in  its 
innocence  ;  manhood  in  its  intellectual  self-sufficiency; 


184)  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

age  in  its  weakness ;  is  equally  exposed  to  their  insi- 
dious advances.  And  the  result  is,  that  so  many  men, 
of  whom  we  had  reason  to  expect  better  things,  go 
down,  utterly  and  hopelessly,  in  this  terrible  warfare 
so  many  men  of  noble  hearts,  of  generous  feelings,  o 
tender  sympathies,  men  whom  we  are  forced  to  love  in 
spite  of  ourselves,  surrender,  almost  without  a  struggle  ; 
so  many  men  den}'-  and  throw  away  and  trample  upon 
the  ensign  of  their  Faith  and  their  Belief  almost  before 
it  is  well  within  their  grasp;  so  many  men,  who  were 
surely  destined  for  a  happier  fate,  disgrace  and  dis- 
honour their  Religion  and  themselves,  and,  poor  fools 
that  they  are,  thus  purchase  for  themselves  the  fulness 
of  the  everlasting  vengeance  of  an  outraged  God. 
And  for  these,  and  for  many  other  reasons,  on  which 
it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  at  length  in  this  place,  the 
Christian  orator  of  these  times  is  compelled,  not  merely 
to  instruct  and  exhort  his  flock,  but  also  to  support 
the  doctrine  which  he  preaches  by  sound  reasoning 
and  by  solid  argumentation. 

Man  is  essentially  a  reasonable  creature,  and,  in 
these  times  especially,  we  must  be  able  to  show  him 
that  he  acts  reasonably  in  admitting  and  adopting  the 
truths  which  we  propose  to  him.  In  eloquence,  as  in 
philosophy,  conviction  must  be  the  result  of  sound 
reasoning,  the  fruit  of  just  consequences  deduced  from 


HOW   TO    SEIZE  THE   AUDIENCE.  185 

sound  principles.  We  must  be  able  to  prove  the 
assertions  which  we  advance ;  we  must  be  able  to  give 
a  reason  for  the  faith  which  is  in  us ;  we  must  be  able 
to  maintain,  with  simplicity  and  gravity,  but  with 
unflinching  and  unquestioned  authority,  the  truths  of 
divine  Faith  and  the  precepts  of  the  divine  Law. 
Faith  and  Reason  must  go  hand-in-hand,  and  the  two- 
fold lio^ht  which  emanates  from  them  must  be  brought 
to  shed  its  rays  upon  the  truths  which  we  teach,  and 
upon  the  doctrine  which  we  enforce.  We  call  upon 
our  people  to  submit  their  judgment  and  their  intel- 
lect to  the  doctrines  which  we  proclaim,  to  the  Faith 
which  we  promulgate;  but  let  us  never  forget  that 
the  subservience  of  intellect  and  of  will  which  we 
require  at  their  hands  is  to  be  a  reasonable,  an  emi- 
nently reasonable  submission  :  Rationahile  obsequiuvi. 
From  all  this  it  follows  that  sound  reasoning  and 
solid  argumentation  must  constitute  the  very  nerve  and 
muscle  of  modern  pulpit  oratory.  The  very  skill  of 
the  introduction,  and  the  very  force  of  the  appeal  to 
the  passions  which  will  be  scattered  through  the  dis- 
course, but  which  will  have  special  place  in  the  per- 
oration, are,  in  a  manner,  subservient  to  this ;  since  the 
exordium  merely  paves  the  way  for  the  argumentation, 
whilst  the  appeal  to  the  passions  which  occurs  in  the 
peroration  rests  upon  this  same  argumentation  as  upon 


186  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

a  solid  foundation.  And,  hence,  too,  it  follows,  tliat 
much  of  a  preacher's  success,  and  much  of  his  power  of 
seizing  his  audience,  will  depend  upon  his  power  of 
reasoning  soundly,  solidly,  and  well. 

In  the  body,  then,  of  his  discourse,  the  'preacher 
will  be  occupied  principally  with  argumentation,  or,  in 
other  words,  with  the  management  of  those  arguments 
from  Holy  Writ,  from  authority,  or  from  natural  reason 
enlightened  by  Faith,  which  he  will  bring  forward  in 
support  of  the  great  leading  proposition  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  which  his  sermon  is  principally  directed. 

In  "SacredEloquence"*  wehave  treated  at  considerable 
length  of  argumentation,  of  the  position  which  it  holds 
in  the  Christian  oration,  and  of  the  conditions  which 
are  necessary  to  ensure  its  success.  It  will  suffice  to 
repeat  in  this  place  that  the  success  of  an  argument 
may  be  said,  in  a  broad  general  way,  to  depend  upon 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  reasoned,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  amplified. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  the  arguments  of  the 
preacher  will  be  discreetly  selected,  and  with  all  due 
regard  to  the  special  circumstances  of  time,  place,  and 
person,  which  have  to  be  considered  ;  taking  it  equally 
for   granted   that   these   arguments    will  be    skilfully 

*  Chap.  viii.  sec.  i.  et  seqq.     3i-d  edition. 


HOW  TO   SEIZE   THE   AUDIENCE.  187 

arranged^  and  "with  all  due  attention  to  that  palmare 
principium  of  eloquence,  ut  augeatur  semper  et  in- 
crescat  oratio,  we  may  now  consider  for  a  few  moments 
in  what  the  intrinsic  force  and  effect  of  reasoning 
consists. 

The  art  of  reasoning  has  been  broadly  said  to  consist 
in  the  power  of  inferring  and  deducing  that  which  is 
less,  from  that  which  is  more  fully  known ;  or,  in  the 
power  of  proving  something  which  seems  doubtful  from 
something  which  is  taken  as  certain.  The  man  who 
reasons  begins  by  assuming,  as  essentially  and  necessarily 
certain,  and  admitted  by  all,  some  first  principle,  or 
some  leading  proposition,  and  then  proceeds  to  show 
the  necessary  connection  of  some  doubtful  or  disputed 
proposition  with  that  which  has  been  already  admitted 
to  be  true.  When  this  process  is  expressed  and  put 
into  spoken  words  it  is  called  an  argument,  and  this 
faculty  of  evolving  truth,  of  deducing  one  principle 
from  another,  is  simply  invaluable  to  the  orator.  An 
eminent  authority  has  well  said*  that  the  preacher  will 
infallibly  compromise  his  ministry  unless  he  be  an  adept 
in  the  art  of  reasoning,  and  the  same  writer  adds  that 
reasoning  is  the  anatomy  of  eloquence  :  Le  discours  est 
une  chaine,  il  faut  que  les  anneaux  tiennent.     The 

*  Besplas. 


188  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

links  of  this  chain  are  formed  by  solid  arguments  and 
by  logical  deductions.  Let  us  have  in  the  first  place, 
says  Fenelon,*  principles  and  facts  ;  then,  consequences ; 
and  let  our  reasoning  be  so  arranged  that  each  argu- 
ment will  fulfil  its  own  part,  and  contribute  its  own 
share  to  the  strength  of  the  whole  ;  and  St.  Liguori  says 
that  every  good  discourse  will  take  the  form  of  sound 
and  solid  argumentation,  not  arranged,  indeed,  accord- 
ing to  the  method  of  the  logician,  but  of  the  orator. 

The  orator  who  is  not  a  logician,  to  whom  the  power 
of  reasoning  does  not  come  readily  and  well,  will  hardly 
ever  be  anything  more  than  a  mere  talker ;  a  man  who 
may  fill  the  air  with  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  succeed, 
perhaps,  in  making  much  noise,  but  who  will  never  say 
anything  worth  listening  to,  or  anything  which  will 
produce  a  lasting  effect. 

Yes,  the  preacher  who  is  to  succeed  in  seizing  his 
audience  must,  in  these  days,  be  a  skilful  reasoner ; 
ready  in  the  use  of  argument ;  as  quick  in  his  defence 
of  the  truth  as  in  his  detection  of  error  and  falsehood. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  there  are  three 
methods  or  forms  of  reasoning,  a  knowledge  of  each  of 
which  is  equally  useful  and  indispensable:  the  syllo- 
gism, the  enthymeme,  and  the  dilemma.     The  syllogism 

*  "  Dial,  sur  TEloq.,"  torn.  10. 


HOW   TO    SEIZE    THE    AUDIENCE.  139 

is  the  soul,  the  very  essence,  of  a  good  argument.     As 
we  have  already  s-een,  every  good  and  orderly  discourse 
is  easily  reducible  to  a  syllogism,  of  which  the  intro- 
duction contains  the  major,  the  body  of   the  sermon 
the  minor,  the  peroration   the    conclusion.      What  is 
true  of  the  whole  discourse  is  true  of  each  part  of  it — 
that  is,  of  each  leading  part  or  argument — it  should  be 
easily  reducible  to  a  syllogism  ;  and  it  is  as  easy  to  a 
skilful  and  practical  speaker   to  throw  his  arguments 
into  logical  order  and  shape  as  it  is  customary  with  un- 
skilful or  unprepared  preachers  to  speak  wildly  and  at 
random,  without  order,  unity,  or  precision.     But,  it  is 
also  true,  that  he  would  be  a  strange  preacher,  as  fan- 
tastic  as   he   would   be   unreal,  whose  sermon  should 
consist  of   a  string  of    strict   and   formal   syllogisms  : 
hence  it  is,  that  a  popular  and  practical  speaker  will 
hardly  ever,  perhaps  never,  present  his  arguments  in 
the  purely  syllogistic  form.      He  will  employ  instead 
the  orator's  syllogism,  as  Aristotle  calls  it — the  enthy- 
meme,   which  is   a  very  easy  and  simple   method    of 
reasoning,  and  which,   whilst  in  reality   it  is  just  as 
strict  and  orderly,  is  free  from  the  formality   of  the 
logical  syllogism.     Frequently,  he  will  present  his  ar- 
gument in  the  shape  of  a  dilemma.     This   mode  of 
reasoning,  argumentum  utrimque  feriens,  is  also  very 
popular    and    practical,   and  is,   of   course,   especially 


190  EXTEMPORAEY  PEEACHING. 

useful  in  refuting  false  principles  and  specious  objec- 
tions. 

But,  whilst  he  is  careful  to  reason  closely  and  well, 
the  popular  preacher  will  be  equally  careful  to  fulfil 
the  wise  precept  of  Quintilian — viz.,  to  keep  all  appear- 
ance of  art  or  studied  formality  well  out  of  sight  and 
hidden  away.     Ars  artis  celare  artem,  is  a  precept 
which  he  can  never  afford  to  forget.     The  surest  way 
to  reason  well  is  to  study  our  subject  thoroughly,  and 
sift  it  to  the  very  bottom,  that  thus  we  may  more 
effectually  distinguish  between  what  is  true  and  what 
is  false — between  what  is  specious  and  what  is  real. 
We  must  be  rigorously  exact  in  grounding  our  argu- 
ments upon  principles  which  are  not  merely  strictly 
true     in     themselves,     but     which    are     also     clear 
and  intelligible.      We  must  seek  the  truth  with  sin- 
cerity and  earnestness,  and,  having  found  it,  we  must  lay 
it  before  our  readers  with  equal   sincerity,  simplicity, 
and   good   sense.     We  must   shrink   from  the   use  of 
sophistry,  deceit,  or  double-dealing,  in  any  form  or  shape. 
Our  adversaries,  if,  unfortunately,  the  truths  we  pro- 
claim should  meet  with  such,  must,  equally  with  the 
members  of  our  own  flock,  recognise  the  simplicity,  the 
sincerity,  and  the  straight-forwardness  of  our  teaching. 
If  our  arguments  be  founded  upon  these  great  general 
principles ;  if  all  men  are  able  to  see  at  once,  that  our 


HOW   TO   SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  191 

only  object  is  to  preach  the  truth  in  all  simplicity  of 
heart,  and  with  all  honesty  of  purpose;  if  there  be 
always  a  rigorous  connection  and  sequence  between  the 
principles  which  we  lay  down,  and  the  conclusions  which 
we  deduce  from  them ;  and  finally,  if  our  various  argu- 
ments be  connected  by  true  rhetorical  and  skilful  tran- 
sitions, i.e.,  by  such  forms  of  expression,  or  turns  of 
thought,  as  spring  from  the  very  essence  of  the  subject 
itself,  and  have  equal  relation  to  that  which  the 
preacher  has  already  said  as  to  that  which  he  is  about 
to  say — such  as  follow  the  course  of  the  reasoning,  and 
bind  the  whole  together,  in  an  orderly  and  methodical 
arrangement ;  such  turns  of  thought,  in  a  word,  as  call 
for,  and  correspond  with  each  other  by  an  inevitable 
analogy,  and  not  merely  by  an  unexpected  association, 
or  by  a  purely  artificial  combination  of  words  ;  we  shall 
reason  closely  and  well,  and,  by  this  means,  make  a 
great  and  sensible  impression  upon  our  hearers;  we 
shall  have  gone  a  long  way,  and  made  most  decided  and 
tangible  progress  towards  seizing  our  audienca 


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CHAPTER  XV. 

HOW  TO  PRESENT  THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  POPULAR  SHAPE — 
AMPLIFICATION,  REAL  AND  FALSE — NATURE  OF  TRUE 
AMPLIFICATION — THE  ESSENTIAL  PART  IT  PLAYS  IN 
THE    SUCCESS    OF    THE    SACRED    ORATOR. 


NA  laus  et  propria  oratoris,"  says  Cicero,  "siim- 
ma  laus  eloquentise,  amplificare  rem  ornaDclo." 

It  is  one  thing  to  render  an  argument  intelligible 
and  convincing ;  it  is  another,  and  a  very  different 
thing  to  render  it  persuasive,  that  is,  powerful,  effec- 
tive, and  well  adapted  for  gaining  the  end  which  the 
speaker  proposes  to  himself  in  employing  it. 

In  the  last  chapter  we  endeavoured  to  show  how 
much  the  success  of  the  preacher,  in  seizing  his 
audience,  will  depend  upon  his  power  of  reasoning  well, 
of  rendering  his  arguments  intelligible  and  convincing. 
His  success,  however,  in  this  important  matter,  will  de- 
pend still  more  upon  his  power  of  amplifying  his  argu- 
ments, as  it  is  technically  called ;  and  this  point  we 
now  propose  to  consider. 


HOW   TO   SEIZE   THE  AUDIENCE.  193 

The  power  or  faculty  of  reasoning  well  is  a  great 
thing,  but  it  is  not  everything  which  the  sacred  orator 
requires,  and  with  which,  if  happily  he  possess  it,  he 
may  remain  content.  Reasoning  simply  addresses  itself 
to  the  intellect  and  the  understanding.  When  it  has 
succeeded  in  convincing  the  understanding,  it  has 
accomplished  its  object,  and  it  has  no  other,  part  to 
play.  But  how  rarely  does  a  preacher  happen  to 
address  an  audience  so  intelligent,  so  learned,  and  with 
minds  so  highly  trained,  as  to  justify  him  in  confining 
himself  in  his  discourse  to  a  series  of  purely  logical, 
closely  reasoned  arguments ;  for,  although  we  may  con- 
ceive such  a  sermon  to  be  intelligible,  would  it  not 
most  certainly  be  unpardonably  dry  and  uninteresting. 
Such  a  discourse  must  be  followed  word  by  word,  argu- 
ment by  argument,  link  by  link.  If  one  link  of  the  chain 
of  reasoning  be  lost,  the  whole  argument  is  irretrievably 
gone,  and  the  patient  listener,  spite  his  patience,  finds 
himself  hopelessly  astray.  Is  it  not  certain  that  there  are 
few  men  who  are  capable  of  thus  closely  following  out  a 
sustained  and  elaborate  argument  ?  Is  it  not  equally  cer- 
tain that  there  are  fewer  still,  who,  even  if  they  be  able, 
are  willing  thus  to  follow  a  discourse  with  attention  at 
full  stretch,  or  who  will  not  become  simply  wearied  and 
disgusted  with  the  logical  dryness  and  the  uninviting 
plainness  of  the  sermon  itself,  and  impatient  of  the  men- 
tal labor  and  restraint  which  is  thus  imposed  upon  them  ? 

14 


194  EXTEMPOKARY  PREACHING. 

Is  it  not  most  certain  of  all,  that  there  are  very  few  occa- 
sions on  which  the  preacher  can  venture  to  be  satisfied 
with  delivering  a  discourse  which  addresses  itself  alto- 
gether, or  even  principally,  to  the  understanding  and 
the  intellect  of  his  hearers  ? 

As  we  only  efficaciously  move  man  to  embrace  that 
which  is  good,  and  to  reject  that  which  is  evil,  by  acting 
upon  his  will,  it  necessarily  follows  that,  in  all  ordinary 
circumstances,  no  sermon  can  be  thoroughly  successful, 
or  gain  its  end,  which  does  not  move  the  heart  and  in- 
fluence the  will,  as  well  as .  instruct  the  intellect  and 
convince  the  understanding.  And,  hence  it  is,  that  the 
sacred  orator  has  to  aim  at  something  more  than  the 
art  of  reasoning.  It  is  not  sufficient  for  him  merely  to 
form  good  arguments ;  he  must  know  how  to  put  his 
arguments  persuasively,  and  this  is  done  by  their  skilful 
amplification,  as  it  is  styled  by  rhetoricians. 

Amplificare  rem  ornando :  This  is  what  Cicero 
means  by  the  amplification  of  arguments.  In  plain 
English,  it  signifies  the  faculty  ^of  presenting  them 
in  a  popular  form,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  the  power 
of  putting  our  arguments  before  an  audience  with  all 
the  force,  vigour,  beauty,  and  practical  application,  of 
which  they  are  susceptible.  And  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  add,  this  faculty  is  the  one  which  is  most  essential  to 
our  success,  the  one  which  will  have  the  greatest  prac- 


HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  195 

tical  influence  upon  the  result  of  our  endeavours  to 
seize  our  audience,  and  render  them  subservient  to  our 
will. 

For,  as  we  have  already  said,  a  sermon  is  of  its  nature 
a  persuasive  oration,  which  is  addressed  to  the  people 
with  the  object  of  gaining  them  efficaciously  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  of  causing  them  to  reject  that  which  is 
evil,  and  to  embrace  ihat  which  is  good.     This  is  the 
primary   end   of   all   our   preaching.     But  experience 
teaches  us  that  the  people  are  slow  to  understand  the 
things  of  God,  slow  to  comprehend  and  to  seize  the  mys- 
teries of  the  supernatural  order.     Hence,  we  cannot,  as 
a  rule,  rest  satisfied  with  our  arguments  merely  because 
we  have  put  them  clearly,  or  rendered  them  fairly  in- 
telligible to  ordinary  intellects.     We  must  go  a  step 
further  than  this ;  we  must  bring  them  home  to  every 
heart  and  soul ;  and  in  order  to  do  this  we  must  present 
them  under  different  aspects  and  from  different  points  of 
view.     We  must  give  warmth  to  what  would  otherwise 
be  cold,  life  to  what  would  otherwise  remain  inanimate 
and  dead.     We  have  sown  the  good  seed  by  the  solid 
instruction  which  we  have  imparted  to  our  people.     We 
must  cause  that  good  seed  to  grow  and  develop  itself 
under  the  vivifying  influence  of  the  life-giving  rain  of 
amplification.     Yes  ;  if  we  would  succeed,  we  must  put 
our  arguments  in  a  popular  form  and  shape.     We  speak, 


196  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

and  we  see  by  the  vacant  faces,  and  the  uninterested 
looks  of  our  hearers,  that  they  either  do  not  comprehend 
what  we  say,  or,  if  they  comprehend  it,  that  they  neither 
appreciate  its  force,  nor  are  moved  by  its  influence. 
We  must  present  it  in  a  different  shape,  clothe  it  in 
another  form  of  words,  illustrate  it  by  some  homely 
comparison,  or  by  a  happy  and  well  chosen  example. 
Remembering  that  the  real  amplification  of  an  argu- 
ment, as  of  a  discourse,  consists  in  something  more 
than  in  merely  heaping  words  upon  words,  and  phrases 
upon  phrases,  we  must,  if  necessary,  present  our  argu- 
ments again  and  again.  We  must  bring  them  forward 
again  and  again  in  a  new  dress;  we  must  labour  to 
render  them  more  clear,  more  intelligible,  more  vivid, 
more  homely,  and  more  full  of  human  and  practical 
interest ;  and  we  must  continue  to  do  this  until  the 
sparkling  eyes,  the  sympathetic  looks,  the  eager  faces  of 
our  audience,  tell  us  that  our  words  have  struck  home 
at  last ;  that  they  have  made  their  mark  upon  the  hearts 
of  our  hearers ;  that  they  have  produced  the  full  effect 
which  we  intended  them  to  have  upon  the  souls  of  those 
who  listen  to  us.  When  this  result  has  been  accom- 
plished we  may  be  satisfied  that  our  argument  has  been 
put  in  a  popular  shape ;  that  it  has  been  amplified 
secundum  regulas  artis,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
according  to  the  rules  of  good  taste,  of  sound  common 


HOW  TO   SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  I97 

sense,  of  honest  intention,  and  of  laborious  endeavour 
elevated  and  directed  by  one  of  the  highest  and  most 
sublime  motives  which  can  actuate  and  move  the 
human  heart — zeal  for  the  greater  glory  of  God  and 
the  good  of  our  brother's  soul. 

The  man  who  is  skilful  in  amplifying  his  arguments 
— in  other  words,  the  man  who  is  really  a  popular 
speaker- — has  been  well  described  by  an  accomplished 
writer  as  a  man  who  knows  how  to  enter  in  by  the 
door  of  his  hearers  and  make  them  go  out  by  his  own. 
He  identifies  himself  with  them.  He  strives  to  think 
as  they  think.  He  strives  to  feel  as  they  feel.  Nay, 
as  often  as  it  is  possible,  he  strives  to  love  what  they 
love,  since  it  is  only  thus  that  he  can  perfectly  succeed 
in  presenting  his  subject  to  them  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  appeal  at  once,  and  that  most  vividly,  to  their  mind^ 
and  hearts.  For  the  time  being,  at  least,  he  sees  with 
their  eyes,  and  he  feels  with  their  hearts,  and  hence 
his  words,  coming  to  his  hearers,  as  they  do,  redolent 
of  tender  sympathy — of  honest,  kindly,  nay,  even  if 
you  will,  of  human  interest  and  love — are  simply  irre- 
sistible. Thus,  having  spoken  to  the  minds,  and  gained 
the  hearts,  of  his  hearers,  he  breathes  upon  them  the 
breath  of  that  life  which  is  born  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  gains  them  most  surely  and  most  power- 
fully to  the   high  and  the  holy  end  which  has  been 


198  EXTEMPORAKY  PREACHING. 

before  him  from  the  first :  he  crushes  their  errors,  he 
roots  oat  and  annihilates  their  vices,  he  leads  them, 
trampling  their  sins  and  passions  under  foot  the  while, 
from  the  very  door  of  hell  to  the  gates  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.     Such  is  the  triumph  of  the  popular  preacher, 
of  the  man  who  knows  how  to  seize  his  audience  in  the 
best  meaning  of  the  word — of  the  man  who  knows  not 
only  how  to  reason  vigorously  and  well,  but  also  how 
to  bring  his  subject  and  his  arguments  before  his  hear- 
ers in  their  most  true  and  their  most  attractive  form, 
vivified  and  adorned  with  all  those  graces  which  can 
be  imparted  to  them  by  keen  conception,  by  brilliant 
images  and  ideas,  by  chaste  and  polished  language — of 
the  man  who  knows  how  to  animate  and  brighten  his 
spoken   words  with  that  strong,  resistless  element  of 
practical  application  which  springs  from  intimate  know- 
ledge of  our  subject  and  our  audience,  from  boundless 
zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  for  the  best  and  the 
holiest  interests  of  those  to  whom  he  speaks.     And 
what  a  different  result  is  this  from  that  which  attends 
so  many  of  the  sermons  which  are  delivered   now-a- 
days ! — sermons  which  are  nothing  more  than  dreary 
metaphysical  essays,  interlarded  here  and  there  with 
a  few  texts  from   Scripture — sermons   in   which   the 
preacher  not  unfrequently  becomes  hopelessly  lost  in 
the  confusion  of  his  own  ideas,  whilst  the  audience. 


HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  199 

utterly  despairing  of  following  him  into  the  lofty  regions 
whither  he  has  soared  away,  either  quietly  compose 
themselves  to  sleep,  or  listen,  with  what  patience  they 
may,  until  it  shall  please  him  once  more  to  descend 
to  their  own  more  humble  level ! 

It  is,  of  course,  much  more  easy  to  dwell  upon  the 
necessity  to  a  popular  preacher  of  this  power  of  ampli- 
fication than  to  show  precisely  in  what  it  consists,  or 
how  it  is  to  be  acquired.  Much  will  depend  upon  the 
grasp  of  mind  possessed  by  the  speaker ;  much  upon 
his  readiness  of  speech,  the  copia  verhorwm  which  is 
the  fruit  of  great  practice  and  constant  exercise  in 
writing  and  speaking;  most  of  all,  perhaps,  upon  his 
thoroughly  practical  knowledge  of  his  people,  his  warm 
interest  in  their  welfare,  the  presence  of  that  zeal 
which  is  ever  prompting  him  to  speak  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  and  of  that  sound  common  sense  which 
ever  restrains  his  zeal  within  the  limits  of  prudence 
and  moderation,  ever  teaches  him  how  to  say  the 
right  thing  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  way. 

But,  whilst  much  must  necessarily  be  left  to  indivi- 
dual taste,  capacity,  and  genius,  in  such  a  matter  as 
this,  still,  there  are  certain  general  principles  which 
the  young  preacher  will  do  well  to  bear  in  mind,  and 
which  ought  to  dominate,  or,  at  least,  to  direct,  his  efforts 
in  the  way  of  amplification,  or,  popular  preaching. 


200  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

And,  in  the  first  place,  he  will  certainly  never  lose 
sight  of  the  great  and  important  truth,  that  the  germ 
of  all  genuine  eloquence  is  contained  in  the  thought  to 
be  expressed,  and  not  in  the  mere  words  by  which  it  is 
sought  to  be  realized.  It  is  not  easy  to  get  many 
preachers  to  believe,  or,  at  all  events,  to  act  upon  this 
principle ;  but  it  is  true,  nevertheless.  Thought  and 
sentiment,  not  words  or  speech,  constitute  eloquence, 
and,  most  of  all,  popular  eloquence.  The  true  orator 
is  as  much  under  the  necessity  of  employing  spoken 
words  as  the  mere  impostor  or  the  empty  charlatan. 
But  there  is  as  vast  a  difference  between  the  two  as 
between  the  result  of  their  speech.  The  one — forget- 
ful or  heedless  of  the  great  principle  laid  down  by  St. 
Augustine  :*  Non  doctor  verbis  serviat,  seel  verba  doc- 
tori — is  vastly  solicitous  about  the  words  he  employs, 
vastly  solicitous  to  please  his  audience,  to  tickle  their 
ears  by  his  affected  elegance  and  his  sounding  phrases, 
whilst  he  bestows  very  little  attention  upon,  and  has 
very  little  real  care  about  the  idea  which  is  contained, 
or  is  supposed  to  be  contained,  in  these  high-flown  sen- 
tences. After  listening  to  such  a  man  the  judgment 
you  are  compelled  to  pass  upon  him  is  probably  this — 
that  he  said  very  nicely  what  he  had  to  say,  but  that, 


*  (( 


De  Doctrina  Christiana,"  lib.  14,  chap.  61. 


HOW  TO   SEIZE   THE   AUDIENCE.  201 

in  reality,  he  had  nothing  to  say.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  true  orator  employs  words,  perhaps  as  copiously  as 
the  speaker  to  whom  we  have  just  referred;  but  in 
every  case  he  merely  employs  the  word  in  order  to 
express  an  idea.  In  every  case  the  mere  word  is  sub- 
servient to  the  idea.  Hence,  the  speaker  is  forgotten 
in  the  words  which  he  utters,  the  words  are  forgotten 
in  the  ideas  which  they  express,  and  the  result  is  elo- 
quent and  successful  speech.  One  of  these  men  is  the 
master  and  ruler  of  his  words,  the  other  is  their  ser- 
vant and  their  slave.  One  of  these  men,  directing  his 
whole  care  and  solicitude  to  the  mere  elaboration  of 
his  words  and  the  trimming  of  his  sentences,  may,  per- 
haps, succeed  in  pleasing  for  the  moment,  although  he 
will  never  succeed  in  persuading  his  people  that  he  is 
a  man  of  God,  or  in  producing  any  real  or  permanent 
effect.  The  other,  far  too  deeply  impressed  with  the 
dignity  of  his  office,  and  the  greatness  of  the  interests 
at  stake,  to  carry  his  own  narrow  views,  his  own  petty 
interests,  his  own  wretched  vanity  and  self-seeking,  into 
the  pulpit  with  him,  does  not  seek  to  please  the  ear 
but  to  change  the  heart;  not  to  amuse  and  distract 
those  amongst  his  hearers  who  may  be  sick  unto  death, 
but  to  cure  and  to  save  them.  He  does  not  disdain  to 
employ  those  ornaments  of  language  which  may  become 
his  subject  and  his  style  of  preaching,  but  he  never 


202         EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

uses  them  for  their  own  sake  alone.  If  he  employ 
them,  it  is  to  preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified ;  it  is  in 
order  to  bring  the  great  truths  of  Faith  more  vividly 
and  more  powerfully  home  to  the  minds  and  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers ;  and  the  success  of  his  efforts  is  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  purity  of  his  intention  and  the  warmth 
of  his  zeal.  Hence  it  is,  that  whilst  the  earnest 
preacher  will  certainly  aspire  to  reason  vigorously  and 
well,  to  clothe  his  arguments  in  the  most  just  and 
beautiful  form  of  words,  to  present  them  in  all  their 
varied  aspects  to  his  people,  he  will  be  equally  careful 
never  to  push  the  amplification  of  his  discourse  beyond 
its  proper  limit,  and  never  to  employ  it  except  when  it 
will  render  what  he  says  more  clear,  more  solid,  more 
effective — except  when  it  will  cause  his  sermon  to  grow 
in  interest  and  in  force.  Hence  it  is,  that  he  will  ever 
guard  himself  most  carefully  against  becoming  a  mere 
spin-text,  or  a  mere  vapid  talker.  Hence  it  is,  that  he 
will  ever  carefully  distinguish  between  true  fecundity 
and  empty  diffusiveness ;  between  that  true  fecundity 
which  is  the  result  of  a  deep  and  earnest  meditation  of 
our  subject,  and  that  diffusiveness  which  merely  seeks 
to  hide  the  absence  of  thought  under  a  cloud  of  soul- 
less words  and  meaningless  phrases. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  source  of  all  real  and  genuine 
eloquence  is  to  be  found  in  the  thought  to  be  conveyed, 


HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  203 

in  the  sentiment  to  be  expressed,  does  it  not  follow 
that  everything  which  contributes  towards  the  cultiva- 
tion of  a  man's  taste,  which  helps  to  elevate  his  style, 
to  render  him  a  man  of  pure  mind  and  of  deep  feeling, 
to  ennoble  and  dignify  the  whole  range  of  his  ideas 
and  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life,  helps  at  the  same  time 
to  cultivate  and  develop  those  faculties  which  are 
brought  most  prominently  into  play  when  he  addresses 
his  fellow-men — those  faculties  upon  whose  perfect  cul- 
tivation and  development  so  much  of  his  success  de- 
pends ?  And  does  it  not  follow,  with  equal  clearness, 
that,  as  the  foundation  of  all  true  eloquence  is  to  be 
found  in  the  thought  to  be  expressed,  so,  deep  and  pro- 
found meditation  of  our  subject  and  our  audience  will 
furnish  the  only  safe  source  of  all  genuine  amplification. 
For,  if  no  mere  collection  of  words,  however  eloquent, 
no  mere  heaping  up  of  phrases,  however  polished,  can 
ever  constitute  useful  or  effective  amplification  of  an 
argument,  it  follows  that  amplification  will  only  be 
genuine  just  in  proportion  as  it  is  a  useful  or  neces- 
sary development  of  that  argument.  Hence,  all  true 
amplification,  as  all  solid  reasoning,  must  have  its  foun- 
dation in  deep  and  earnest  thought.  The  man  who 
would  amplify  with  effect  must  return  again  and  again 
to  the  very  viscera  of  his  argument  for  the  happy 
thoughts  and  the  felicitous  illustrations  with  which  to 


204  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

develop  it.  Buffon  remarks  that  it  is  only  by  means 
of  profound  meditation,  and  of  deep  and  earnest  thouo-ht, 
that  the  mind  of  man  is  made  truly  fruitful.  If  this 
be  so,  does  it  not  necessarily  follow,  that  the  man  who 
would  speak  eloquently  and  well  upon  any  subject, 
must  study  that  subject  with  all  his  heart  and  soul,  and 
strive  his  very  utmost  to  realize  it  in  all  its  varied 
bearings,  in  all  its  fruitful  application.  He  must 
fathom  its  lowest  depths.  He  must  realize  the  most 
minute  details  which  are  proper  to  it,  the  special  cir- 
cumstances which  give  it  a  life  and  character  of  its 
own.  He  must  study  how  to  bring  out  these  circum- 
stances and  details  in  the  most  striking  and  most  lively 
colours.  He  must  strive  to  discover  what  turns  of  ex- 
pression, what  figures  of  speech,  Avhat  contrasts  or  com- 
parisons, what  inductions  and  conclusions,  what  accu- 
mulation of  ideas,  or  what  careful  working  out  of  leading 
thoughts,  will  contribute  most  powerfully,  most  clearly, 
and  most  effectually  to  the  true  development  of  his 
subject,  to  the  vivid  realization  of  those  substantial 
details  and  those  leading  circumstances  which,  as  we 
have  just  said,  animate  and  give  it  life.  Just  in  pro- 
portion as  he  succeeds  in  this  will  he  succeed  in  clothing 
the  bare  skeleton  of  his  discourse  in  vigorous,  breathing, 
living  flesh  and  muscle. 

But — and  this  brings  us  back  again  to  a  great  prin- 


HOW  TO  SEIZE   THE  AUDIENCE.  205 

ciple  which  has  been  asserted  more  than  once  already — 
he  will  not  succeed  in  this  unless  he  be  a  man  of  study 
and  reflection ;  a  man  to  whom  the  habit  of  thought 
and  of  studious  labour  is  as  familiar  as  his  daily  bread. 
The  mind  of  a  thoughtless,  heedless  man — the  mind 
which  is  poured  out  upon  a  thousand  petty  frivolities, 
and  distracted  by  a  thousand  petty  cares — will  never 
be  the  fountain  to  produce  those  noble  thoughts,  those 
sublime  ideas,  those  keen  and  generous  sympathies, 
which  sway  the  minds  and  hearts  of  other  men.    Fene- 
lon  remarks  with  great  force  that  the  failure  of  many 
preachers,  of  men  not  deficient  in  natural  talent  and 
ability,  is  to  be  traced  to  their  want  of  study,  and  to 
that  ignorance  which  is  its  natural  result.     Such  men 
never  acquired,  or  have  forgotten,  if  they  ever  acquired 
it,  that  solid  fund  of  professional  knowledge,  as  we  may 
call  it,  and  of  sound  information,  which   are  simply 
essential  to  the  Christian  orator,  and  without  which  he 
must  be  unprepared  to  speak.     Such  ready  accurate 
knowledge,  such  a  fund  of  exact  and  solid  information, 
cannot  be  acquired  in  an  hour.     It  must  be  the  fruit  of 
a  life  of  study.    Men  attempt  to  speak  without  possess- 
ing this  fund  of  information,  and,  hence,  having  no 
foundation  to  fall  back  upon,  they  speak  at  random 
and  without  effect.     It  may  be  that  they  know  how  to 
speak,  but  they  have  nothing  to  say.     Possessing  no 


206  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

ready  and  expedite  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  sound 
philosophy  or  of  Gospel  teaching,  they  only  succeed  in 
emasculating  the  grandest  ideas  and  the  most  sublime 
truths.  By  their  most  brilliant  phrases,  and  their  most 
ingenious  figures  of  speech,  they  never  succeed  in  dis- 
guising the  innate  and  repulsive  deformity  of  the  dead 
body  which  they  labour  to  clothe  in  these  gaudy  gar- 
ments. They  never  succeed  in  making  these  dry  bones 
live ;  probably  they  never  even  succeed  in  galvanizing 
and  imparting  to  them  a  momentary  semblance  of  life 
and  vitality.  They  never  succeed  in  breathing  the 
breath  of  life  into  that  lifeless  frame.  Spite  of  their 
ill-directed  efforts  to  animate  and  give  it  being,  it  re- 
mains cold  and  dead  to  the  end.  These  are  the  men 
of  whom  it  has  been  bitterly  written — that  they  have 
nothing  to  say,  and  they  say  it.  And,  what,  perhaps, 
is  most  painful  of  all,  is,  that  many  men  who  were  des- 
tined by  God  and  nature  to  become  true  orators — men 
who  begin  well,  and  whose  after-career  promises  to  be 
great  and  glorious — end  in  this  miserable  way  simply 
because,  when  they  have  once  acquired  that  gift,  which 
is  too  often  fatal  to  its  possessor,  a  great  facility  of 
speech,  they  give  up  the  habit  of  study,  the  habit  of 
careful  and  studious  reading,  without  which  no  man, 
how  great  soever  his  talents  or  his  natural  gifts  may 
be,   will  ever   continue   to    be   really  and  truly   elo- 


HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  207 

quent,  will  ever  be  able  to  speak  with  force  and  effect 
to  a  body  of  intelligent,  educated,  and  thoughtful  men. 
Yes,  the  source  of  all  genuine  amplification  must  be 
found  in  deep  and  earnest  study  of  our  subject.     But 
this  study  must  not  be  a  mere  study  of  our  subject  in 
the  abstract.     It  must  be  taken  in  the  concrete  ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  subject  of  the  discourse  must  be  studied 
face  to  face,  in  all  its  bearings  and  all  its  varied  rela- 
tions, to  the  audience  to  whom  it  is  to  be  addressed. 
It  is  easy  enough,  or,  at  all  events,  it  is  not  so  very 
difficult,  to  speak  of  things  in  general — to  treat  an 
abstract  subject  in  a  vague  and  abstract  way.     But 
such  speaking  will  never  be  eloquent.     The  only  true 
eloquence  is  that  in  which  one  man  speaks,  out  of  the 
depths  of  his  own  heart  and  soul,  to  the  living,  breath- 
ing, individual  men  who  sit  at  his  feet,  waiting  to  be 
taught,  waiting  to  learn  whether  he  who  undertakes  to 
teach  them  has  fathomed  the  depths  of  their  spiritual 
wants,  the  violence  of  their  passions,  the  keenness  of 
their  temptations,  the  weakness  of  their  faint  and  trem- 
bling souls,  the  reality  and  special  characteristics  of  the 
conflict  in  which  they  are  engaged,  the  special  means 
by  which  they,  the  individual  men  who  listen  to  him, 
are,  if  ever,  to  gain  the  victory — alas  !  how  dubious  and 
uncertain — upon  which  so  much  depends. 

Hence  it  is  that  so  much  of  the  success  of  popular 


208  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

preaching,  of  genuine  amplification,  will  ever  be  mea- 
sured by  the  force  and  reality  with  which  the  preacher 
is  able  to  apply  his  subject,  and  bring  it  home  practi- 
cally, and,  so  to  speak,  individually,  to  his  hearers.  The 
following  sketch  of  a  popular  preacher  illustrates  our 
meaning  in  a  striking  manner  :* — 

"  He  spoke  from  his  own  nature  to  the  nature  of 
others.  He  was  himself  a  most  inartificial  man.  He 
knew  human  nature  welL  He  studied  it  in  himself 
and  in  others.  He  knew  man,  how  he  thinks,  and  feels, 
and  acts.  He  drew  his  knowledge  not  from  copies  and 
books,  but  from  the  living  original.  Men  felt  when  they 
heard  him,  that  they  were  listening  to  a  preacher  who 
knew  not  only  books  and  theories  and  systems,  but 
humanity,  both  in  its  fallen  and  its  restored  state — in  its 
wants,  woes,  diseases,  remedies,  and  varieties  ;  one  who 
could  sympathize  with  them  as  well  as  teach  them. 
When  on  a  Sunday  morning  they  came  worn  and  weary 
with  the  trials,  toils,  and  cares  of  the  six  days'  labour,  and 
placed  themselves  under  the  sound  of  his  mellifluous 
voice,  they  felt  sure  of  not  being  tantalized  and  dis- 
appointed with  a  cold  intellectualism,  or  a  mere  logical 
demonstration,  or  a  metaphysical  abstraction,  or  a  wordy 

*  "  Papers  on  Preaching  by  a  Wykehamist,"  p.  230. 


HOW  TO  SEIZE  THE  AUDIENCE.  209 

nothing,  which  would  have  given  them  a  stone  when 
they  asked  for  bread  ;  or  with  something  religiously 
poetic,  which  would  have  been  offering  them  flowers 
when  they  wanted  meat ;  but  he  fed  them  with  food 
convenient  for  them,  and  satisfied  the  cravings  of  their 
nature  with  what  satisfied  his  own." 

To  be  able  to  speak  in  this  manner  we  must  know  our 

people  thoroughly  and  well.     We  must  be  in  continual 

and  kindly  intercourse  with  them.     We  must  have  a 

lively   interest   in   their    welfare,   a   great  anxiety  to 

procure   their   advancement  in  the  service  of  God,  a 

generous  enthusiasm  in  aiding  them  to  overcome  and 

conquer  their  passions  and  vices.     We  must  be    the 

Pastors  of  our  people  in  the  fullest  and  truest  meaning 

of  the  word,  and  we  must  never  forget  that  we.  Catholic 

priests,  enjoy    advantages    in  this  respect  which  are 

peculiar  to  ourselves,  and  which,  if  they  be  properly 

employed,  must  necessarily  give  a  practical  and  most 

powerful  direction  to  our  efforts  which  no  other  body  of 

men  can  ever  hope  to  possess. 


15 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


WOKD  PAINTING — ITS  FORCE,  ITS  EMPLOYMENT,  AND 
ITS  PROPER  PLACE  IN  POPULAR  PREACHING — HOW 
IT  MAY  BE  ABUSED — FATHER  PAUL  SEGNERI — ROW- 
LAND  HILL — DR.   NEWMAN,   ETC. 

LT HOUGH  the  germ  of  all  true  and  genuine 
eloquence  is  contained  in  the  thought  to  be  con- 
veyed, rather  than  in  the  words  in  which  it  is  expressed  ; 
although  the  spoken  word  will  depend  for  much  of  its 
actual  effect  upon  the  w^armth,  earnestness,  and  internal 
feeling  of  him  who  speaks ;  it  is  no  less  true  that  the 
popular  preacher  must  be  able  to  paiut  with  vividness 
those  sentiments  which  he  feels  so  deeply,  that  he  must 
be  a  master  of  that  power  of  minute  and  graphic  descrip- 
tion which  is  technically  called  "  word-painting." 

In  this,  more,  perhaps,  than  in  anything  else,  the  true 
orator,  the  finished  workman,  is  distinguished  from  the 
mere  journeyman.  The  latter  contents  himself  with  a 
bare  enunciation  of  the  facts,  or  incidents,  which  he 
desires  to  express  :  as,  for  example  :  Christ  was  scourged 


WORD   PAINTING,   ITS   USE   AND   ABUSE.  211 

at  the  pillar  and  died  upon  a  cross  for  our  sins.     The 
former,  concentrating  all  the  powers  of  his  intellect  and 
his  imagination  upon  the  scene  or  action  which  he 
desires  to  depict ;  studying  deeply  the  various  circum- 
stances of  time,  place,  and  person  which  may  be  most 
intimately  connected   with   it;  at  length  succeeds    in 
obtaining  a  vivid  and  life-like  conception  of  the  sub- 
ject of  his  contemplation,  a  conception  so  vivid  and 
life-like  indeed,  as  to  render  his  thoughts,  so  to  speak, 
tangible  and  real,  and  to  give  to  the  "  airy  nothings  " 
of  his  own  mental  creation  "  a  local  habitation  and  a 
name."    But,  he  does  more   than  this.     Having  suc- 
ceeded, in  the  first  place,  in  obtaining  for  himself  this 
vivid  and  life-like  conception  of  the  action  or  scene 
which  is  before  his  mind,  he  proceeds  to  paint  the  crea- 
tions of  his  imagination  in  "  spoken  words,"  and  he  does 
this  with  such  a  happy  fulness  of  expression,  with  such 
a  keen,  direct,  and  pointed   application  of  the  terms 
which  he  employs,  with  such  a  depth  of  inward  feeling 
manifesting  itself  in  the  tones  of  his  voice,  in  the  move- 
ments of  his  countenance,  in  the  very  deportment  of  his 
frame,  as  to  produce  an  almost  irresistible  effect  upon 
his  hearers.     Every  circumstance,  every  detail,  the  very 
words  of  the  actor,  are  painted  with  such  a  reality  and 
a  vivid  power  as  to  bring  the   whole  scene  before  the 
audience   in   the  most  natural  and    striking   manner 


212  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

The  present  is  forgotten  in  the  description  of  the  past ; 
time  and  space  are  annihilated  by  the  spell  of  the 
orator's  words.  As  Dr.  Newman  says  so  beautifully, 
"  he  speaks  not  only  distincte  and  splendide,  but  also 
apte.  He  writes  passionately,  because  he  feels  keenly  ; 
forcibly,  because  he  conceives  vividly.  When  his  im- 
agination wells  up,  it  overflows  in  ornament ;  when  his 
heart  is  touched,  it  thrills  along  his  verse.  He  always 
has  the  right  word  for  the  right  idea,  and  never  a  word 
too  much.  If  he  is  brief,  it  is  because  few  words  suffice ; 
if  he  is  lavish  of  them,  still  each  word  has  its  mark,  and 
aids,  not  embarrasses,  the  vigorous  march  of  his  elocu- 
tion.    He  expresses  what  all  feel,  but  all  cannot  say." 

And  when  we  remember  that  a  sermon  is,  of  its 
nature,  a  persuasive  oration,  it  must  at  once  be  evident 
that  this  true  "  copia  verhoruni,"  this  faculty  of  graphic 
description,  is  essentially  necessary  to  the  successful 
orator.  The  persuasive  oration  depends  for  its  success, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  upon  the  force  and  effect  with 
which  it  is  able  to  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  men,  and 
move  their  hearts  and  wills  most  efficaciously.  But,  as 
the  feelings  or  passions  are  only,  as  a  general  rule, 
efficaciously  moved  by  bringing  their  proper  objects 
before  them  in  a  striking  and  vigorous  manner,  it  fol- 
lows that  the  persuasive  oration  must  ultimately  depend, 
for  a  very  considerable  portion  of  its  success,  upon  the 


WORD  PAINTING,   ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE.  213 

manner  in  which  these  objects  are  painted  by  the  orator, 
and  presented  to  his  hearers.  And  it  is  equally  plain 
that  he  will  best  succeed  in  this  who,  possessing  the 
most  intimate  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  and  of 
the  springs  by  which  it  is  directed  and  governed,  is  best 
able  to  depict,  in  living  and  spoken  words,  those  varied 
circumstances  which  surround  the  objects  of  the  passions, 
and  give  them  their  reality  and  their  human  interest. 
In  other  words,  no  man  will  ever  be  a  popular  orator 
who  cannot  successfully  manage  and  depict  the  varied 
details  which  make  up  the  sum  of  human  life,  with  all 
its  hopes,  and  joys,  and  fears — who  cannot  paint  in  vivid, 
glowing,  or  pathetic  terms,  the  varied  circumstances 
which  give  the  objects  of  the  passions  their  life  and 
being.* 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  popular  preach- 
ers of  every  age  were  men  who  fully  recognized  the 
necessity  of  graphic  speaking,  and  who  excelled  in  that 
power  of  description,  that  power  of  expressing  vivid 
thoughts  in  vivid  words,  which  we  call  word-painting. 
And  anyone  who  would  judge  for  himself  what  con- 
summate artists  the  early  and  the  mediaeval  church 
possessed  in  such  men  as  St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Basil,  St. 
Augustine,   St.    Bernard,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,   St. 

*  "  Sacred  Eloquence."     Chap.  ix.  sec.  i.  2, 


214)  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

Bonaventure,  St.  Gall,  St.   Bernardine  of  Sienna,  St. 
Francis  of  Assissi,  St.  Dominic,  and  a  host  of  others,  will 
find  a  fund  of  truly  interesting  information  in  the  fifth 
book  of  the  second  volume  of  that  most  learned,  and,  in 
many  respects,  most  wonderful  book,   the  "  Mores  Ca- 
tholici,  or  Ages  of  Faith."     As  we  read  of  the  mar- 
vellous gifts  of  eloquence  which  God  had  bestowed  upon 
some  of  these  saintly  men,  we  are  not  astonished  to 
learn  that  it  often  seemed  to  the   simple  folk  of  these 
ages  of  faith  as  if  they  could  hear  the  voices  of  the  idols, 
which  they  had  broken  and  cast  into  the  flames  at  the 
word  of  the  preacher,  wailing  over  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  or  dying  away  in  plaintive  murmurs  amid 
the  impenetrable  shadows  of  their  gloomy  woods  and 
forests.    Still  less  are  we  astonished  to  learn  that  twenty 
thousand  persons,  after  hastening  by  night  to  secure 
places  in  the  field  in  which  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  was  to 
preach,  should,  after  his  sermon,  have  committed  to  the 
flames  immense  piles  of  wicked  books,  cards,  and  other 
objects  of  licentiousness,  of  great  price  and  of  most  costly 
description.      Truly,  these  were  triumphs  of  popular 
preaching  !  triumphs  of  men  who  knew  how  to  utter 
great  thoughts  in  great  and  burning,  though,  perhaps, 
in  plain  and  homely  words. 

What  should  we  think  now-a-days,  and  what  efiect 
would  it  produce  upon  us,  if  a  man  with  the  intense 


WORD  PAINTING,  ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE.  215 

earnestness,  the  plain  blunt  outspokenness,  of  Father 
Paul  Segneri,  were  to  present  himself  to  one  of  the 
dainty,  perfumed,  over-dressed,  luxurious  congregations 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  address  them  in  such 
words  as  the  following,  which  are  extracted  from  two 
of  his  well-known  sermons,  one  on  hell,  and  the  other 
on  the  danger  of  sin  : — * 

"  What  else,  after  all,  have  I  this  morning  to  do, 
than  pour  forth  two  copious  streams  of  inconsolable 
grief  for  the  many  souls  who  see  hell  open  before  them, 
and  yet  do  not  draw  back,  but  boldl}''  press  on  to  launch 
themselves  into  its  flames  ?  Ah,  no  :  stop,  ye  wretched 
beings,  for  a  moment ;  stop — and  before  plunging  with 
a  headlong  leap  into  that  abyss,  let  me  demand  of  you 
in  the  words  of  the  same  Isaiah  :  Which  of  you  can 
dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?  Which  of  you  can 
dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?  (xxxiii.  14.  Yulg). 
Excuse  me,  my  people.  For  this  once  thou  art  not  to 
leave  the  church,  unless  thou  hast  first  made  a  satisfac- 
tory reply  to  my  question — Which  of  you  can  dwell 
with  everlasting  burnings?  What  sayest  thou,  O 
lady,  who  art  so  tender  in  cherishing  thy  flesh  ?    Canst 

*  The  "  Quaresimale "  of  P.  Paolo  Segneri,  translated 
from  the  original  Italian,  by  James  Ford,  A.M.,  Prebendary 
of  Exeter  Cathedral. 


216  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

thou  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings '^  Now  thou 
canst  not  bear  it,  if  the  point  of  a  needle  at  thy  work 
lightly  stain  thy  delicate  skin.  How  thinkest  thou 
then  ?  Wilt  thou  be  able  to  endure  those  terrific  en- 
gines, by  which  thou  must  feel  thyself  dismembered, 
disjointed,  and  with  an  everlasting  butchery  crushed 
into  powder  ?  What  sayest  thou,  O  man,  who  art  so 
intent  on  providing  for  thy  personal  comforts  ?  Canst 
thou  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings}  Now  thou 
canst  not  tolerate  the  breath  of  a  poor  man,  who  by 
coming  near  thee  offends  in  the  least  thy  organs  of 
smell.  Wilt  thou  be  able  to  stand  those  foul  stenches, 
by  which  thou  must  feel  thyself  poisoned,  stifled,  and 
with  an  everlasting  suffocation  pressed  down  to  the 
ground  ?  And  thou,  what  sayest  thou  for  thyself,  0 
priest,  who  art  so  negligent  in  the  discharge  of  thy 
duties  ?  Canst  thou  divell  with  everlasting  burnings  ? 
Now  thou  art  not  able  to  remain  in  the  choir  of  thy 
church  a  single  hour  without  indecently  looking  about 
thee,  without  being  restless,  without  indulging  thy 
tongue  in  every  kind  of  gossip :  how  then  does  it  strike 
thee  ?  Wilt  thou  be  able  to  remain  through  all  the 
ages  of  eternity,  I  say,  not  reclining  on  thy  elegantly 
carved  stall,  but  rather  stretched  out  on  an  iron  frame- 
work on  a  flaming  couch,  there  to  be  listening  to  the 
demons'  howls  ringing  in  thy  ears  ?     What  sayest  thou, 


WORD  PAINTING,  ITS   USE  AND  ABUSE.  217 

0  glutton  ?  What  sayest  thou,  0  slanderer  ?  What 
sayest  thou,  O  libertine  ? — thou  young  man,  indulging 
thyself  so  wantonly  in  all  thy  heart's  desires  ?  Canst 
thou  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?  Alas !  who, 
who  among  us  can  ?  And  yet,  why  do  I  thus  enlarge  on 
the  case  of  other  people  ?  Excuse  me :  of  myself,  of 
myself  I  ought  to  speak  ;  of  myself,  an  ecclesiastic,  it 
is  true,  as  cannot  be  denied  from  my  dress,  and  yet  a 
wretched  creature,  so  unmortified,  so  impetuous,  so  vain, 
and  so  averse  to  that  true  penitence  which  my  sins  call 
for  !  If  I  am  not  able  to  remain  for  a  short  time  before 
the  presence  of  my  Lord  in  tears  for  my  sins,  if  I 
am  so  fond  of  my  own  ease,  if  I  am  so  studious  of 
my  own   reputation,  how  can  I  hereafter,  wretch  that 

1  am,  stand  for  ever  and  ever  at  the  feet  of  Lucifer, 
the  place  assigned  to  such  as  me ;  to  such,  as,  having 
undertaken  to  confer  benefits  on  other  men,  and  been 
gifted  accordingly  for  that  purpose  with  so  much  light, 
knowledge,  and  many  endowments,  have  betrayed  my 
word  by  my  actions  ?  Ah,  Lord  !  have  pity,  have  pity. 
We  have  sinned ;  we  know  it ;  we  confess  it.  "  We 
have  done  ungodly,  we  have  dealt  unrighteously  in  all 
thy  ordinances  "  (Baruch.  ii.  12).  And  therefore  we  can- 
not make  bold  to  ask  Thee  not  to  punish  us.  Punish  us, 
then,  since  we  well  deserve  it.  Reward  the  proud  after 
their  deserving  (Ps.  xciv.  2).  Only,  in  Thine  infinite 
mercy,  may  it  please  Thee  not  to  sentence  our  souls  to 


218  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

hell.   O  hell!  0  hell!  the  mere  mention  of  thee  is  enouo;h 
to  overwhelm  us  with  horror." — Torments  of  Hell. 

The  other  extract,  which  is  no  less  powerful  than  the 
one  just  quoted,  is  taken  from  the  introduction  to  his 
sermon  on  Ash  Wednesday.  It  commences  in  the  fol- 
lowing terribly  earnest  language  : — 

"  I  come  before  you,  my  respected  hearers,  to  deliver 

a  most  mournful  message.  The  thought  only  of  what  I 
have  to  tell  you  strikes  a  cold  chill  at  my  heart  through 
intense  horror.  And  yet,  what  good  can  come  of  my  si- 
lence ?  or,  what  would  concealment  avail  ?  I  will  at  once 
declare  my  message.  All  here  present,  whether  young  or 
old,  masters  or  servants,  nobles  or  commoners,  all  of  you 
must  at  last  die  !  It  is  a]opointed  unto  all  men  once 
to  die.  (Heb.  ix.  27.)  Alas  !  what  do  I  behold  ?  On 
hearing  so  tremendous  an  announcement,  not  one  among 
you  is  moved  :  not  one  of  you  changes  colour  :  not  one 
of  you  looks  altered.  So  far  from  it,  I  cannot  but  per- 
ceive that  you  are  secretly  inclined  rather  to  regard  me 
under  a  ludicrous  aspect,  as  a  person  coming  here  to  pass 
off,  as  something  new,  a  story  that  has  been  told  you 
over  and  over  again.  And  where  is  the  man,  you  ask 
me,  who  at  this  time  of  day  does  not  know  that  we  must 
all  die  ?  What  man  is  he  that  liveth,  and  shall  not  see 
death  ?     (Ps.  Ixxxix.  47.)     This  is  what  we  are  continu- 


WORD  TAINTING,  ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE.  219 

ally  hearing  from  so  many  pulpits  :  this  is  what  we  are 
continually  reading  on  so  many  tombs  :  this  is  what  so 
many  corpses,  though  silent,  are  continually  sounding  in 
our  ears.  In  short,  this  is  something  we  know  already. — 
Do  you  know  this  ?  How  is  it  possible  you  should  ? 
"Why,  tell  me ;  are  you  not  the  very  same  persons  Avho 
only  yesterday  were  running  about  the  city  in  all  the 
gaiety  of  your  Carnival,  some  representing  the  lover,  some 
the  maniac,  some  the  parasite  ?  Are  you  not  the  same 
persons  who  joined  with  such  eagerness  in  the  dance, 
who  allowed  yourselves  the  excess  of  dissipation,  who 
acted  like  so  many  senseless  heathens  in  giving  your- 
selves over  to  licentiousness  ?  Was  it  you,  then,  who 
were  sitting  with  such  evident  delight  at  the  theatres  ? 
Was  it  you  who  were  speaking  so  rapturously  in  the 
boxes  ?  Answer  me.  I  ask  you,  did  you  not  pass  this 
night,  the  night  before  Ash-Wednesday,  in  riotous  self- 
indulgence,  and  in  all  the  common  amusements  of 
worldly  life  and  society — would  to  heaven,  that  it  may 
not  have  been  even  in  pleasures  still  less  suited  to  your 
characters  ?  And,  while  you  behave  in  this  manner,  do 
you  still  pretend  to  know  for  a  certainty  that  you  must 
die  ?  Oh,  what  blindness !  Oh,  what  insensibility  ! 
Oh,  what  madness  !  Oh,  what  wickedness  !  .  .  .  How- 
ever, for  the  sake  of  argument,  I  will  suppose  that  you 
do  in  some  sense  know  this  :  I  will  even  give  you  credit 


220  EXTEMPORAKY  PREACHING. 

for  freely  confessing  it.  Remember,  0  man  !  remember 
that  thou  art  dust !  Here,  then,  I  have  the  very  thing 
I  desire  of  you :  for  it  will  now  be  my  business  to  prove 
how  daring  is  the  presumption  of  those,  who,  while  they 
acknowledge  this  truth,  live  one  single  moment  in  deadly 
sin." — Danger  of  Sin. 

We  may  easily  imagine  the  horror,  the  surprise,  and, 
most  likely,  the  indignation  with  which  one  of  ourfashion- 
able  audiences  would  listen  to  such  words  as  these. 
There  are  few  preachers  now-a-days  who,  even  if  they 
possessed  the  power,  would  dare  to  utter  them.  Perhaps 
the  nearest  approach  to  this  terribly  plain,  practical, 
earnest  speaking  which  our  day  has  produced,  is  to  be 
found  in  Dr.  Newman's  powerful  sermon  on  "  The  Ne- 
glect of  Divine  Calls  and  Warnings,"  where  he  describes 
in  words  which  are  appalling  by  their  earnest  plainness, 
their  terrible  point  and  application,  the  career  in  life, 
and  the  death  of  the  easy-living,  comfortable,  careless 
Christian,  who,  in  the  cant  of  the  day,  lives  respected 
and  beloved,  and  dies  universally  lamented,  to  be  buried 
for  eternity  in  the  flames  of  hell. 

Nor  has  the  appreciation  of  this  great  principle,  the 
absolute  necessity  to  the  orator  of  graphic  description, 
and  of  plain  popular  modes  of  speech,  been  confined  to 
the  preachers  of  the  Catholic  Church.     It  is  one  of  those 


WORD  PAINTING,   ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE.  221 

truths  which  all  men  who  aim  at  popular  and  effective 
speaking  necessarily  feel,  but  which  only  the  favoured 
few  are  able  to  realise  in  their  perfection  and  fulness. 
No  doubt  it  was  this  principle  which  influenced  the  grim 
Puritans  to  bestow  such  quaint,  and,  oftentimes,  coarse 
titles  upon  the  works  by  which  they  sought  to  influence 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  men  of  their  day.  Hence, 
when  we  read  of  "Baruch's  Sore  gently  opened  and 
the  salve  skilfully  applied  ;"  "  The  Snuffers  of  Divine 
Love;"  "The  Spiritual  Mustard  Pot  to  make  Souls  sneeze 
with  Devotion  ;"  "  A  Pack  of  Cards  to  win  Christ ;" 
"  High  Heeled-shoes  for  Limping  Christians  ;"  etc.,  etc., 
we  can  understand  at  once  the  principle  upon  which  the 
writers  of  these  extravagant  pamphlets  acted,  and  the 
motives  by  which  they  were  governed,  in  the  selection  of 
such  extraordinary  titles ;  but  we  can  note  with  equal 
readiness  the  absence  of  that  good  taste,  and  of  that 
refining  influence,  which  true  religion  and  education 
can  alone  impart. 

The  Rev,  E.  P.  Hood,  in  his  "  Lamps,  Pitchers,  and 
Trumpets,"*  a  very  able  and  most  interesting  work, 
although  disfigured  by  some  unnecessary  and  uncalled- 
for  sneers  against  Popery  and  E-ome,  tells  an  amusing 

*  "  Lamps,  Pitchers,  and  Trumpets,"  by  Edward  Paxton 
Hood.  London  :  Jackson,  Walford,  and  Hodder,  Pater- 
noster-row. 


222  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

story,  which  illustrates  so  pointedly  the  grave  mistakes 
into  which  plain-speaking,  when  not  refined  by  educa- 
tion, and  elevated  by  the  sanctifying  influences  of  a 
religious  training,  may  lead  even  honest,  earnest  men, 
that  we  quote  it  at  full  length  : — 

"  It  may  be  sixty  years  since  there  frequently  came 
to  Bristol  a  well  known  Calvinistic  Methodist  preacher 
of  that  day — in  a  day  when  flattering  titles  were  not 
very  lavishly  distributed — called  Sammy  Breeze  by  the 
multitudes  who  delighted  in  his  ministry.     He  came 
periodically  from  the  mountains  of  Cardiganshire,  and 
spoke  with  tolerable  efiiciency  in  English.     Our  friend 
was  in  the  chapel  when,  as  was  not  unusual,  two  minis- 
ters, Sammy  Breeze  and  another,  were  to  preach.    The 
other  took  the  first  place — a  young  man  with  some 
tints   of  academical  training,  and   some  of  the  livid 
lights  of  a  then  only  incipient  Rationalism  on  his  mind. 
He  took  for  his  text — "He  that   believeth  shall  be 
saved,  and   he   that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned;" 
but  he  condoned  the  heavy  condemnation,  and,  in  an 
affected  manner,  shaded  off  the  darkness  of  the  doom 
of  unbelief,  very  much  in  the  style  of  another  preacher^ 
who  told  his  hearers  that  he  '  feared  lest  they  should 
be  doomed  to  a  place  which  good  manners  forbade  him 
from  mentioning.'      The  young  man  also  grew  senti- 


WORD   PAINTING,  ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE.  223 

mental,  and  begged  loardon  of  an  audience  rather  more 
polite  than  usual,  for  the  sad  statement  made  in  the 
text.     'But,  indeed,'  said  he/ he  that  believeth  shall 
be  saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not — indeed,  I  regret 
to   say,  I  beg  your  pardon  for  uttering  the   terrible 
truth — but  indeed  he  shall  be  sentenced  to  a  place 
which  here  I  dare  not  mention.'      Then  rose  Sammy 
Breeze.     He  began — '  I  shall  take  the  same  text  to- 
night which  you  have  just  heard.     Our  young  friend 
has  been  fery  foine  to-night ;  he  has  told  you   some 
very  polite  things.     I  am  not  fery  foine,  and  I  am  not 
polite ;  but  I  will  preach  a  little  bit  of  Gospel  to  you, 
which  is  this — "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  tamned,"  and  I  begs  no 
pardons.'      He  continued — '  I  do  look  round  on  this 
chapel,  and  I  do  see  people  all  fery  learned  and  intel- 
lectual.    You  do  read  books,  and  you  do  study  studies, 
and  fery  likely  you  do  think  that  you  can  mend  God's 
Book,  and  are  fery  sure  you  can  mend  me.     You  have 
great — what  you  call  thoughts — and  poetries.     But  I 
will  tell  you  one  little  word,  and  you  must  not  try  to 
mend  that — but  if  you  do  it  will  be  all  the  same.     It 
is  this,  look  you — "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved, 
and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  tamned,"  and  I  begs 
no  jpardons.     And  then  I  do  look  round  your  chapel, 
and  I  do  see  you  are  fine  people,  well  dressed  people,  well- 


224  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

to-do  people.     You  are  not  only  pious,  but  you  have 
fery  fine  hymn-books  and  cushions,  and  some  red  cur- 
tains, for  I  do  see  you  are  fery  rich,  and  you  have  got 
your  moneys,  and  are  getting  fery  proud.     But  I  will 
tell  you  it  does  not  matter  at  all,  and  I  do  not  mind  it 
at  all — not  one  little  bit — for  I  must  tell  you  the  truth, 
and  the  truth  is — "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved, 
and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  tamned,"  and  I  begs 
no  'pardons.     And  now,'  continued  the  preacher,  '  you 
will  say  to  me,  "  What  do  you  mean  by  talking  to  us  in 
this  way  ?     Who  are  you,  sir  ?"     And  now  I  will  tell 
you  I  am  Pilly  Freeze.     I  have  come  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Cardiganshire  on  my  Master's  business,  and 
His  message  I  must  deliver.     If  you  will  never  hear 
me  again,  I  shall  not  matter  much ;  but  while  you 
shall  hear  me  you  shall  hear  me,  and  this  is  His  word 
to  me,  and  in  me  to  you — "  He  that  believeth  shall  be 
saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  tamned,"  and 
I  begs  no  pardons.'    But  the  scene  in  the  pulpit  was  a 
trifle  to  the  scene  in  the  vestry.     There  the  deacons 
were  in  a  state  of  great  anger  with  the  blunt  teacher  ; 
and  one,  the  relative — we  believe  the  ancestor — of  a 
well-known  religious  man  in  Bristol,  exclaimed — '  Mr. 
Breeze,  you  have  strangely  forgotten  yourself  to-night, 
sir.     We  did  not  expect  that  you  would  have  behaved 
in  this  way.     We  have  always  been  very  glad  to  see 


WORD  PAINTING,  ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE.  225 

you  in  our  pulpit ;  but  your  sermon  to-night,  sir,  has 
been  most  insolent — shameful.'  He  wound  up  a  pretty 
smart  condemnation  by  saying — 'In  short,  I  don't 
understand  you.'  '  Ho  !  ho  !  What !  you  say  you  don't 
understand  me.  Eh  I  look  you  then,  I  will  tell  you  I 
do  understand  you.  Up  in  our  mountains,  we  have 
one  man  there,  we  do  call  him  exciseman.  He  comes 
along  to  our  shops  and  stores,  and  says,  "  What  have 
you  here  ?  Anything  contraband  here  ?"  And  if  it  is 
all  right,  the  good  man  says,  "  Step  in,  Mr.  Exciseman ; 
come  in,  look  you."  He  is  all  fair,  and  open,  and 
above-board.  But  if  he  has  anything  secreted  there, 
he  does  draw  back  surprised,  and  he  makes  a  fine  face, 
and  says,  "  Sir,  I  don't  understand  you."  Now  you  do 
tell  me  you  don't  understand  me ;  but  I  do  understand 
you,  gentlemen — I  do;  and  I'  do  fear  you  have  some- 
thing contraband  here.  And  now  I  will  say  good-night 
to  you ;  but  I  must  tell  you  one  little  word — that  is  : 
"  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  be- 
lieveth  not  shall  be  tamned;"  and  I  begs  no  par^ 
dons.' " 

We   have   no   more   reason   to  doubt  that  Sammy 

Breeze  was  quite  in  earnest,  than  that  he  was  a  master 

of  the  art  of  plain  and  graphic  speaking.     But  it  is  very 

evident  that  plain  speaking  in  this  case  was  carried 

16 


226  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

beyond  all  due  limit,  and  that  the  speaker  was  guilty 
of  violations  of  good  taste  and  propriety  which  were 
not  condoned  by  the  directness  and  point  of  his  speech, 
and  which  a  man  of  liberal  education  and  refined  mind 
would  not  have  committed. 

Few  men  were  more  talked  about  in  their  day,  or 
acquired  a  greater  name,  at  least  amongst  a  certain 
class,  for  eloquent  plain-speaking,  than  Rowland  Hill. 
And,  yet,  few  men  were  ever  responsible  for  more 
violent  attacks  upon  good  taste,  or  were  more  forgetful 
of  that  gravity  and  decorum  of  speech  which  alone 
become  the  minister  of  God,  and  the  Gospel  which  he 
preaches.  Few  men  ever  said,  as  few  would  have  the 
courage  to  attempt  to  say,  so  many  "good  things  "  in 
the  pulpit ;  but  we  are  compelled  to  add  that  the 
majority  of  these  good  things  would  have  better  become 
the  mouth  of  a  jester  than  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel; 
and  that,  although  they  might  have  graced  a  dinner 
table,  they  were  sadly  out  of  place  in  a  Christian  pulpit. 
To  say  nothing  of  his  well-known  charity-sermon  jokes, 
about  hanging  all  the  misers  in  the  congregation  up 
by  the  heels,  that  the  money  might  run  out  of  their 
pockets  into  the  plates,  etc.,  etc.,  what  could  be  in 
worse  taste  than  the  following  illustration  of  the  state 
of  the  unconverted  sinner,  which  we  have  also  taken 
from  Mr.  Hood's  work  : — 


WORD  PAINTING,  ITS  USE   AND   ABUSE.  227 

"  The  mere  professor  reminds  me  of  a  sow  that  I  saw 
two  hours  ago  luxuriating  in  her  stye  when  almost  over 
head  and  ears  in  the  mire.  Now,  suppose  any  of  you 
were  to  take  Bess  (the  sow)  and  wash  her,  and  suppose 
after  having  dressed  her  in  a  silk  gown,  and  put  a  smart 
cap  upon  her  head,  you  were  to  take  her  into  any  ot 
your  parlours,  and  were  to  set  her  down  to  tea  in  com- 
pany, she  might  look  very  demure  for  a  time,  and 
might  not  give  even  a  single  grunt;  but  you  would 
observe  that  she  occasionally  gave  a  sly  look  towards 
the  door,  which  showed  that  she  felt  herself  in  an  un- 
comfortable position;  and  the  moment  she  perceived 
that  the  door  was  open  she  would  give  another  proof  of 
the  fact  by  running  out  of  the  room  as  fast  as  she 
could.  Follow  the  sow,  with  her  silk  gown  and  her 
fancy  cap,  and  in  a  few  seconds  yoa  will  find  that  she 
has  returned  to  her  stye,  and  is  again  wallowing  in  the 
mire.  Just  so  it  is  with  the  unrenewed  man :  sin  is 
his  element;  and  though  he  may  be  induced  from  a 
variety  of  motives  to  put  on  at  times  a  show  of  religion, 
you  will  easily  perceive  that  he  feels  himself  to  be 
under  unpleasant  restraints,  and  that  he  will  return  to 
his  sins,  whenever  an  opportunity  of  doing  so,  unknown 
to  his  acquaintances,  presents  itself  to  him."  i 

Compare  this  undignified  language,  which  is  as  coarse 


228  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING 


as 
cimens 


it  is  unbecoming,  with  the  following  magnificent  spe- 
nens  of  powerful  and  graphic  word-painting  : — 

"  There  was  a  blood-shedding  once,  which  did  all 
other  sheddings  of  blood  by  far  outvie ;  it  was 
a  man  —  a  God  —  that  shed  his  blood.  Come  and 
see  it !  Here  is  a  garden,  dark  and  gloomy ;  the 
ground  is  crisp  with  the  cold  frost  of  midnight: 
between  those  gloomy  olive-trees  I  see  a  man,  I 
hear  him  groan  out  his  life  in  prayer ;  hearken  angels, 
hearken  men,  and  wonder ;  it  is  the  Saviour  groaning 
out  his  soul.  Come  and  see  him.  Behold  his  brow  ! 
O  heavens  !  drops  of  blood  are  streaming  down  his  face 
and  from  his  body  ;  every  pore  is  open,  and  it '  sweats  !' 
but  not  the  sweat  of  men  that  toil  for  bread,  it  is  the 
sweat  of  one  that  toils  for  heaven — he  '  sweats  great 
drops  of  blood.'  This  is  the  blood-shedding  without 
which  there  is  no  remission.  Follow  that  man  farther 
— they  have  dragged  him  with  sacrilegious  hands  from 
the  place  of  his  prayer  and  of  his  agony,  and  they  have 
taken  him  to  the  Hall  of  Pilate ;  they  seat  him  in  a 
chair  and  mock  him,  a  robe  of  purple  is  put  on  his 
shoulders  in  mockery ;  and  mark  his  brow — they  have 
put  about  it  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  the  crimson  drops 
of  gore  are  rushing  down  his  cheeks  !  Ye  angels  !  the 
drops  of  gore  are  rushing  down  on  his  cheeks.     But  turn 


WORD  PAINTING,  ITS   USE  AND  ABUSE.  229 

aside   that  purple  robe  for  a  moment.      His  back  is 

bleeding.      Tell  me,  demons,  who    did   this?      They 

lift  up  the  thongs  still  dripping  clots  of  gore  ;    they 

scourge  and  tear  his  flesh,  and  make  a  river  of  blood  to 

run  down  his  shoulders  !     That  is  the  shedding  of  blood 

■without  which  there  is  no  remission.     Not  yet  have  I 

done  :  they  hurry  him  through  the  streets,  they  flin- 

him  on  the  ground,  they  nail  his  hands  and  feet  to  the 

transverse  wood,  they  hoist  it  into  the  air,  they  dash  it 

into  its  socket,  it  is  fixed,  and  on  it  hangs  the  Christ  of 

God  !     Why  is  it  that  this  story  doth  not  make  men 

weep  ?     I  told  it  ill,  you  say.    Ay,  so  I  did  ;  I  will  take 

all  the  blame.     But,  sirs,  if  it  were  told  as  ill  as  men 

could  speak,  were  our  hearts  what  they  should  be,  we 

should  bleed  away  our  lives  in  sorrow."* 

I 

The  above  extract,  which  is  said  to  be  the  production  of 
a  self-educated  man,  is  a  beautiful  and  pathetic  piece  of 
word-painting ;  sharp  and  clear,  and  quaint  as  some 
old  Gothic  picture  that  attracts  you  at  once  by  an  in- 
definite charm,  the  presence  of  which  you  keenly  and 
intimately  feel,  but  which  you  know  not  how  to  describe. 
In  these  plain,  simple,  even  rugged  words,  the  suffering 
Saviour  is  brought  before  us  with  a  reality  which  is 


*  ii 


Papers  on  Preaching,"  by  a  Wykehamist. 


230  EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

almost  painful ;  the  last  few  lines  of  the  extract  are  in- 
imitable, in  the  simple  earnestness,  and  the  tender,  but 
unlaboured  pathos  of  their  expression. 

We  shall  conclude  these  illustrations  of  the  art  of 
word-painting,  as  applied  to  sacred  oratory,  by  an  ex- 
tract from  Dr.  Newman,  who,  as  Mr.  Hood  so  eloquently 
and  truthfully  remarks,  is  "  great  everywhere,  and  in 
everything  great,  with  a  Michael-Angelo-like  greatness, 
struggling,  massive,  earn  est,  hurling  his  books  about  like 
thunderbolts,"  and  who  is  specially  great  in  his  unri- 
valled power  of  amplification,  a  power  in  which  he  is 
always  charming,  but  not  unfrequently  absolutely  terri- 
ble by  his  graphic  plainness  and  directness  of  speech : — 

"  0  the  change,  my  brethren  " — he  is  describing  the 
death-bed  of  the  man  who  has  lost  his  soul — "  the  dis- 
mal change  at  last,  when  the  sentence  has  gone  forth, 
and  life  ends,    and  eternal  death  begins !     The  poor 
sinner  has  gone  on  so  long  in  sin,  that  he  has  forgotten 
he  has  sin  to  repent  of.     He  has  learned  to  forget  that 
he  is  living  in  a  state  of  enmity  to  God.     He  no  longer 
makes  excuses,  as  he  did  at  first.     He  lives  in  the 
world,  and   believes   nothing   about    the   Sacraments 
nor  puts  any  trust  in  a  priest,  if  he  falls  in  with  one 
Perhaps  he  has  hardly  ever  heard  the  Catholic  religion 
mentioned,  except  for  the  purpose  of  abuse ;  and  never 


WORD  PAINTING,   ITS   USE  AND  ABUSE.  231 

has  spoken  of  it  but  to  ridicule  it.  His  thoughts  are 
taken  up  with  his  family  and  with  his  occupation;  and 
if  he  thinks  of  death,  it  is  with  repugnance,  as  what 
will  separate  him  from  this  world,  not  with  fear,  as 
what  will  introduce  him  to  another.  He  has  ever  been 
strono:  and  hale.  He  has  never  had  an  illness.  His 
family  is  long-lived,  and  he  reckons  he  has  a  long  time 
before  him.  His  friends  die  before  him,  and  he  feels 
rather  contempt  at  their  nothingness,  than  sorrow  at 
their  departure.  He  has  just  married  a  daughter,  and 
established  a  son  in  life,  and  he  thinks  of  retiring  from 
the  world,  except  that  he  is  at  a  loss  to  know  how  he 
shall  employ  himself  when  out  of  it ;  and  then  he  begins 
to  muse  awhile  over  himself  and  his  prospects,  and  he 
is  sure  of  one  thing,  that  the  Creator  is  simple  and 
mere  benevolence,  and  he  is  indignant  and  impatient 
when  he  hears  eternal  punishment  spoken  of.  And  so 
he  fares,  whether  for  a  long  time  or  a  short ;  but  what- 
ever the  period,  it  must  have  an  end,  and  at  last  the  end 
comes.  Time  has  gone  forward  noiselessly,  and  comes 
upon  him  like  a  thief  in  the  night ;  at  length  the  hour 
of  doom  strikes,  and  he  is  taken  away. 

"  Perhaps,  however,  he  was  a  Catholic,  and  then  the 
very  mercies  of  God  have  been  perverted  by  him  to  his 
ruin.  He  has  rested  on  the  Sacraments,  without  caring 
to  have  the  proper  dispositions  for  attending  them.    At 


232  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

one  time  he  had  lived  in  neglect  of  religion  altogether ; 
but  there  was  a  date  when  he  felt  a  wish  to  set  himself 
right  with  his  Maker ;  so  he  began,  and  has  continued 
ever  since,  to  go  to  Confession  and  Communion  at  con- 
venient intervals.  He  comes  again  and  again  to  the 
priest ;  he  goes  through  his  sins ;  the  priest  is  obliged 
to  take  his  account  of  them,  which  is  a  very  defective 
account,  and  sees  no  reason  for  not  giving  him  absolu- 
tion. He  is  absolved,  as  far  as  words  can  absolve  him ; 
he  comes  again  to  the  priest  when  the  season  comes 
round ;  again  he  confesses,  and  again  he  has  the  form 
pronounced  over  him.  He  falls  sick,  he  receives  the 
last  Sacraments;  he  receives  the  last  rites  of  the  Church; 
and  he  is  lost.  He  is  lost,  because  he  has  never  really 
turned  his  heart  to  God;  or,  if  he  had  some  poor  mea- 
sure of  contrition  for  a  while,  it  did  not  last  beyond  his 
first  or  second  confession.  He  soon  came  to  the  Sacra- 
ments without  any  contrition  at  all ;  he  deceived 
himself,  and  left  oat  his  principal  and  most  important 
sins.  Somehow  he  deceived  himself  into  the  notion 
that  they  were  not  sins,  or  not  mortal  sins ;  for  some 
reason  or  other  he  was  silent,  and  his  confession  became 
as  defective  as  his  contrition.  Yet  this  scanty  show  of 
religion  was  sufficient  to  soothe  and  stupify  his  con- 
science ;  so  he  went  on  year  after  year,  never  making  a 
good  confession,  communicating  in  mortal  sin,  till  he 


WORD   PAINTING,   ITS   USE   AND   ABUSE.  233 

fell  ill ;  and  then,  I  say,  the  viaticum  and  holy  oil  were 
brought  to  him,  and  he  committed  sacrilege  for  his  last 
time — and  so  he  went  to  his  God." — Neglect  of  Divine 
Calls  and  Warnings. 


"* 


We  venture  to  think  that,  as  a  piece  of  plain,  vivid, 
earnest,  terribly  earnest  description,  the  above  extract 
can  scarcely  be  surpassed.  We  have  quoted  it  and  the 
other  extracts  contained  in  this  chapter  at  considerable 
length,  because  they  illustrate  much  more  forcibly  than 
any  feeble  words  of  ours  could  do,  the  nature  of  word- 
painting,  the  real  power  which  the  possession  of  it  puts 
into  the  hands  of  the  true  orator,  and  the  flagrant  abuses 
to  which  it  is  liable  when  treated  carelessly,  unskilfully, 
or  by  a  man  who  is  ignorant  of  its  scope,  its  method, 
and  its  means.  We  recommend  a  careful  study  of  these 
extracts  to  the  young  preacher,  who  is  honestly  anxious 
to  distinguish  what  is  true  from  what  is  false,  the  genu- 
ine gold  from  the  glittering  tinsel.  And  it  must  be  a 
matter  of  honest  pride  to  us,  as  Catholic  priests,  to  re- 
flect that  we  possess  amongst  ourselves  men  who,  whilst 
they  are  the  most  perfect  models  we  could  propose  to 
ourselves  for  imitation,  have  supplied  us  with  copious 
writings  whose  elegance  of  style,  and  beauty  of  diction, 


*  "  Discourses  addressed  to  Mixed  Congregations." 


234  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

are  only  equalled  by  the  solidity  of  their  matter,  and 
the  scrupulous  exactness  of  their  doctrinal  teaching. 
In  Newman,  "  with  his  massive  greatness,"  and  in  Man- 
ning, with  "  his  words  persuasive  as  the  air  " — to  use 
once  more  the  eloquent  language  of  the  writer  whom  we 
have  already  more  than  once  quoted — "  with  his  words 
sometimes  terrible  as  the  air  alive  with  lightnings,  or 
auroras,  or  spectral  armies  fighting  in  the  clouds,"  we 
possess  two  masters  of  sacred  eloquence  whom  we  may 
follow  with  unwavering  footsteps,  with  no  misgiving  that 
they  will  lead  us  into  the  quagmires  of  doctrinal  error, 
of  unclerical  levity,  or  ungentlemanly  bad  taste.  In  their 
company  we  may  pluck  the  rose  without  any  fear  of  the 
lurking  thorn ;  we  may  sip  the  honey  without  any  ap- 
prehension of  imbibing  the  hidden  poison.  We  cor- 
dially agree  with  Mr.  Hood — it  is  our  pride  and  our  con- 
solation to  believe  it — that  Manning  and  Newman  are 
amongst  the  most  eminent  men  in  England  to-day ; 
that  their  writings  "  contain  fountains  for  many  sermons, 
for  years  of  consolation  and  light ;  that  many  a  sermon, 
or  even  page,  may  be  a  consensus  for  the  conscience,  for 
the  mind,  for  the  faith."  But  here  our  agreement  with 
Mr.  Hood  must  cease.  We  cannot  express  our  grief 
with  him,  "  that  they  are  where  they  are — in  Rome." 
It  seems  to  us,  that  when,  with  the  piercing  intellects 
and  the  honest  earnest  hearts  which  God  had  given 


WORD   PAINTING,   ITS   USE  AND  ABUSE.  235 

them,  these  great  men  had  fathomed,  to  its  lowest 
depths,  the  rottenness  and  insufficiency  of  the  system 
of  the  rights  of  the  individual  and  private  judgment,  in 
which  Mr.  Hood  is  proud  to  rest  with  such  complacent 
thankfulness  and  satisfaction,  Rome  became  "their  legi- 
timate abode  " — whatever  Mr.  Hood  may  think  to  the 
contrary. 

uh^  ^^..f  -^«—  ■^'"'-'  """ 


"    " 


'»      '■     "      "     "      M     11      \l     t 


*i     '■      " '      ■'      " "      "     "     ■■      '■     '■     ^ 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE — THE  DANGER  OF  UNDULY  PEO- 
LONGING  THE  DISCOURSE— VARIOUS  METHODS  OF 
CONCLUDING — THE  CRISIS  OF  THE  SERMON,  HOW  IT 
IS  TO  BE  MANAGED,  AND  THE  IMMENSE  IMPORTANCE 
OF  EMPLOYING  IT  PROPERLY — RECAPITULATION,  ITS 
NATURE  AND  OBJECTS  —  THE  APPEAL  TO  THE 
PASSIONS,  AND  HOW  IT  IS  TO  BE  CONDUCTED — 
EXAMPLES  :  MASSILLON,  SAINT  LIGUORI,  SEGNERI, 
MANNING,   NEWMAN. 

HE  great  leading  idea  which  was  contained,  and 
expressed  implicitly  or  explicitly,  in  the  pro- 
position of  his  discourse,  having  been  sufficiently  ex- 
plained, developed,  and  maintained  by  solid  argumen- 
tation— having,  by  the  warmth  of  his  eloquence,  the 
force  of  his  reasoning,  the  earnestness  of  his  zeal,  won 
every  heart,  and  carried  every  intellect  captive  to  the 
views  which  he  propounded,  and  the  obligations  which 
he  laid  down — having  secured,  in  one  word,  the  assent 
of  his  hearers,  or,  at  least,  having  brought  them  to  that 


HOW  TO   CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  237 

point,  or  crisis,  in  his  discourse,  in  which  all  that  is 
needed  is  merely  the  finishing  stroke  to  win  their 
assent  to  those  practical  deductions,  and  those  special 
applications,  which  are  the  necessary  and  essential 
fruits  of  every  good  sermon,  the  time  has  arrived  for 
the  preacher  to  conclude,  and  bring  his  address  to  a 
becoming  close. 

Nothing  is  more  fatal  to  the  success  of  a  discourse 
than  to  prolong  it  beyond  due  limits.  We  speak  for  a 
^  certain  purpose,  with  a  certain  object  in  view.  When 
that  object  has  been  attained,  the  motive  which  urged 
us  to  speak,  and  which  alonf  justified  our  speaking,  has 
ceased ;  and  if  we  attempt  to  prolong  our  discourse 
beyond  this  point  w^  shall,  in  all  probability,  address 
an  unwilling,  a  reasonably  unwilling,  audience,  who  will 
not  fail  to  let  us  understand  that  they  are  weary  of  us 
and  of  our  subject,  and  desire  no  more  of  it. 

The  skilful  orator,  therefore,  will  always  keep  his 
gaze  keenly  fixed  upon  the  crisis  of  his  discourse,  and 
when  that  has  been  successfully  secured,  will  conclude. 
Not  unfrequently,  of  course,  the  development,  or  con- 
summation, or,  whatever  we  may  please  to  call  it,  of 
this  crisis,  will  constitute  the  principal  and  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  conclusion  itself. 

But  it  may,  naturally  enough,  be  asked  what  is  meant 
by  the  crisis  of  a  discourse?  The  answer  to  this  question 


238  EXTEMPORAKY  PREACHING. 

is  contained  in  the  very  elementary  idea  of  the  nature 
and  scope  of  a  sermon,  and  flows  from  even  the  most 
cursory  study  of  these  points. 

A  sermon,  as  we  have  so  often  said,  is,  of  its  nature, 
a  persuasive  oration,  and  has  for  its  object  the  per- 
suading of  a  certain  clearly  defined  body  of  men — to  wit, 
our  audience — to  embrace,  in  certain  plain  and  clearly 
defined  circumstances,  a  certain  clearly  defined  line  of 
action.  It  is  supposed  that  this  line  of  action  is  one 
which  our  hearers,  if  left  to  themselves,  are  disinclined 
to  adopt.  At  any  rate,  we  take  it  for  granted  that  it 
is  one  which  it  is  our  duty  to  impress  upon  them  by 
every  means  in  our  power,  in  order  that  we  may  win 
their  assent,  an  assent  of  intellect  and  of  heart,  to  the 
views  which  we  lay  before  them.  For  this  end,  we  urge 
them  in  the  strongest  possible  manner,  and  by  every 
consideration  which  seems  to  us  best  suited  to  sway  the 
understanding  and  the  will.  If  we  are  successful  in  our 
efforts,  a  moment  must  necessarily  arise  in  our  discourse 
when  it  will  be  evident  to  us  that  our  victory  has  been 
won,  or  is  on  the  very  point  of  being  achieved,  and 
only  waits  for  the  finishing  stroke  which  is  to  crown 
the  victorious  assault.  This  is  called  the  crisis  of  the 
discourse.  It  will  naturally  occur  towards  what  should 
be  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon.  Not  unfrequently,  it 
is  reserved  for  the  very  peroration  or  conclusion  of  the 


HOW  TO   CONCLUDE  THE   DISCOURSE.  239 

address,  and,  as  is  evident,  must  have  a  very  decided 
influence  in  securing  success. 

There  is  no  part  of  a  discourse  which  requires  to  be 
so  skilfully  managed,  and  so  thoroughly  studied,  as  the 
conclusion.  This  is  the  decisive  moment.  The  victory 
is  to  be  won  now  or  never.  It  may  be  that  our  hearers 
still  hang  back.  They  cannot  deny  the  force  of  our 
arguments,  the  strength  of  our  reasoning,  the  validity 
of  our  consequences.  But,  for  all  that,  they  still  hang 
back,  unwilling  to  make  the  generous  sacrifice  which 
God  demands  at  their  hands ;  or,  with  hearts  hardened 
and  seared  by  long  habits  of  indulgence  and  disregard 
of  the  voice  of  God,  they  shelter  themselves  behind  a 
thousand  petty  subterfuges,  and  invent  a  thousand 
excuses,  false  and  void  of  foundation  though  they  be, 
why  they  should  not  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord, 
or  render  obedience  to  the  commands  and  prayers 
of  His  minister.  It  may  be  that  the  reason  and 
intellect  are  convinced,  and  acknowledge  the  truth, 
but  the  will  remains  stubborn  and  unbending.  Per- 
haps, nay,  most  likely,  it  wavers.  It  would  fain 
bow  before  the  voice  of  God,  were  it  not  for  that 
other  voice  which  raises  itself  in  proud  rebellion,  a  re- 
bellion which,  perchance,  is  all  the  more  insidious  and 
deadly  because  it  is  built  upon  the  foundations  of  sen- 
suality and  pride.     But,  whatever  the  motive  may  be, 


240  EXTEMPOKARY  PREACHING. 

the  unregenerate  will  hangs  back,  and  the  preacher  feels 
that,  unless  it  can  be  subdued,  broken,  discomfited,  and 
routed  utterly  and  entirely,  all  his  labour  will  have  been 
lost,  all  his  arguments  will  have  been  thrown  away,  all 
the  good  seed  which  he  has  sown,  with  so  much  patient 
labour,   and   so   much   tearful   hope,   will   have   been 
choked  and  rendered  fruitless  by  the  thorns  and  briars 
amongst  which  it  has  fallen.     He  feels  all  this,  keenly 
and  intensely,  as  the  man  who  is  in  earnest  about  his 
Master's  business  must  ever  feel  these  things ;  and  he 
knows  that  the  moment  for  the  great  assault  has  ar- 
rived.    In  these  supreme  moments,  concentrating  the 
sacred  fire  which  burns  so  keenly  within  his  breast,  and 
which  merely  seeks  some  feeble   expression  in  those 
ardent  appeals,  those  brilliant  turns  of  thought,  those 
melting  images,  those  torrents  of  hot  and  burning  words 
which  pour  spontaneously  from  his  lips,  he  throws  him- 
self with  all  his  might  upon  the  wavering  but  still  stub- 
born foe.     He  rushes   down    upon   him  with  all  the 
highest,  deepest  efforts  of  his  mind  and  heart,  ofhis 
love  and  zeal,  concentrated  on  this  grand  assault.     He 
presses  the  reluctant  but  faltering  will  on  every  side.  He 
leaves  that  will,  and  the  irregular  passions  upon  which 
it  relies  for  its  support,  no  loop-hole  for  escape.  Urging, 
arguing,  reasoning,  pleading,  praying,  by  every  motive 
and  by  every  power  through  which  one  man  may  act 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  241 

upon  another,  he  presses  more  and  more  keenly  upon 
his  foe,  that  thus,  aided  and  strengthened  by  the  assist- 
tance  of  God's  supporting  grace,  he  may  wring  from  every 
soul  full  and  unconditional  surrender  to  those  arguments 
and  those  practical  conclusions  which  he  has  laid  before 
them ;  that  thus,  he  may  draw  from  penitent  and  broken 
hearts,  those  saving  tears  which  are  potent  enough  to  wash 
the  most  deadly  sins  away ;  that  thus,  he  may  awaken 
those  generous  resolutions,  and  obtain  those  triumphs 
of  conquering  grace,  which,  like  a  true  soldier  of  Christ, 
he  ardently  desires  to  lay  at  his  Master's  feet,  as  the 
pledges  of  his  conflict,  the  trophies  of  his  fight. 

But,  great  as  the  importance  of  concluding  well  may 
be,  many  preachers  seem  to  find  it  more  difficult  to  do  so 
than  would  at  first  sight  appear  likely.     In  fact,  hard  as 
they   found   it   to  make  a  good  start   and  get  fairly 
launched  into  their  subject,  they  appear  to  find  it  harder 
still  to  wind  up,  and  bring  that  subject  to  a  close.    And, 
in  this  case,  we  have  the  oratorical  monster  which  is 
known  by  the  unwieldy  length  of  his  tail.     Captivated 
by  the  sound  of  his  own  voice ;  or,  what  is  more  likely, 
not  exactly  seeing  how  to  conclude  his  discourse,  the 
preacher  continues  to  talk,  although  in  reality  he  has 
already  more  than  said  all  that  he  had  to  say  on  the 
subject.     In  these  circumstances,  his  language,  instead 
of  rising  in  warmth,  dignity,  and  real  oratorical  excellence, 

17 


242  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

is  almost  certain  to  degenerate  into  mere  talk.     The 
sermon   is  continued   without   any    new    light   being 
thrown  upon  the  matter — words  are  heaped  up,  but  ideas 
are  remarkable  onlyby  their  absence — and  the  inevitable 
result  is  a  lamentable  weakening  of  the  whole  discourse, 
which,  if  it  had  been  finished  with  prudence  and  discre- 
tion,  might,  perhaps,  have  been  tolerably  successful, 
but,  as  it  is,  only  grows  weaker  and  weaker  the  more  it 
is  prolonged.     It  may  be,  that,  in  a  certain  part  of  his 
discourse,  in  the  crisis  of  his  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  his 
hearers,  the  preacher  may  have  succeeded  in  moving 
them  deeply,  or  in  raising  them  to  a  momentary  enthu- 
siasm.    But,  having  neglected  to  conclude  when  affairs 
were  in  this  favourable  position,  his  hearers,  unable,  or 
unwilling,  to  remain  any  longer  with  feelings  unusually 
excited,  or  unduly  strained,  drop  down  at  once  to  their 
ordinary  level,  and  the  preacher  soon-  discovers  that  he 
is  addressing,  at  the  best  a  listless,  in  all  probability,  a 
wearied  and  disgusted   audience.      Still  he  flounders 
along  for  a  little  while  longer,  heaping  word  upon  word, 
and  phrase  upon  phrase,  till,  in  the  end,  with  the  reck- 
lessness of  despair,  he  winds  up  with  the  well-used  text, 
"  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,"  and  descends,  crowned, 
if  not  with  laurels,  at  least  with  the  gratitude  of  his 
audience,  for  having  seen  fit  to  conclude  at  last. 

Now,  this  is  a  position  in  which  no  preacher  has  a 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  243 

right  to  place  himself :  the  office  which  he  fills,  the  duty 
which  he  discharges,  the  respect  due  to  the  body  to 
which  he  belongs,  and  of  which  he  is  never  free  to 
forget  that  he  is  a  member,  require  him  to  guard,  as  far 
as  he  may  be  able,  against  such  a  slovenly  performance. 
And,  as  a  rule,  he  will  only  guard  effectually  against 
this  unbecoming  and  unpleasant  result,  by  marking  out 
clearly  and  distinctly  in  the  plan  of  his  discourse  the 
leading  ideas  on  which  he  will  dwell  in  his  conclusion, 
the  manner  in  which  he  will  develop  them,  and,  to  some 
extent,  the  very  words  in  which  he  will  give  them  expres- 
sion. Nor  will  this  be  sufficient.  He  must  also  foresee 
how  he  will  do  this  with  that  lucid  brevity,  that  vigor- 
ous point,  that  warmth,  earnest  and  real,  just  in  pro- 
portion as  it  is  brief,  which  alone  render  the  conclusion 
of  a  discourse  all  that  it  ought  to  be,  the  most  telling 
and  effective  portion  of  it. 

There  are  various  ways  of  concluding  and  winding 
up  a  discourse,  and  the  preacher  will,  of  course,  avail 
himself  of  that  method  which  may  suit  himself  or  his 
subject  best. 

The  first,  and  undoubtedly  the  easiest,  method  of 
concluding,  and  it  is  one  upon  which  the  preacher  can 
always  fall  back,  no  matter  how  embarrassed  or  hard 
pushed  he  may  be,  consists  in  a  mere  recapitulation  of 
the  leading  heads,  arguments,  and   illustrations   con- 


244  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

tained  in  the  discourse.  In  a  purely  argumentative 
sermon,  if  we  can  conceive  any  circumstances  in  which 
it  may  be  useful  or  desirable  to  deliver  such  a  discourse, 
this  form  of  conclusion  is  appropriate  enough.  In  a 
sermon  of  this  kind,  the  preacher  appeals  entirely  to  the 
intellect  and  the  reason,  and  as  there  is  no  question  of 
any  address  to  the  feelings,  or  of  any  attempt  to  move 
the  heart  and  the  will,  a  mere  recapitulation  of  the 
arguments  is  all  that  is  necessary  by  way  of  conclusion. 
Only,  do  not  let  the  orator  call  such  a  performance  a 
sermon.  It  may  pass  as  a  learned  lecture,  or  as  a 
philosophical  essay,  but,  in  no  sense  of  the  word,  can  it 
be  considered  as  a  persuasive  oration.  And  it  is  a  style 
of  preaching  which,  we  venture  to  think,  a  prudent 
priest  will  seldom  employ. 

What  we  have  said  of  the  purely  argumentative  dis- 
course will,  of  course,  apply  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
controversial  sermon.  As  this  kind  of  discourse,  how- 
ever, generally  supposes  the  presence  in  the  congrega- 
tion of  some  who  are  outside  the  pale  of  the  truth,  there 
is  more  room  in  the  conclusion  for  an  appeal  to  the 
feelings  and  sentiments  of  the  audience ;  since,  if  we 
take  the  trouble  to  proclaim  the  doctrines  of  the  Church 
from  a  controversial  point  of  view,  it  must  surely  be 
with  the  purpose  of  inducing  those  amongst  our  hearers, 
who  may  not  be  within  the  Fold,  to   embrace  them. 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  245 

Hence,  a  sermon  of  this  nature  will  always  conclude 
appropriately  and  well  with  a  few  words  of  warm  and 
earnest  exhortation,  words  full  of  charity  towards  those 
who  may  be  wandering  in  the  mazes  of  error  and  dark- 
ness, and  of  zeal  for  their  speedy  and  thorough  conver- 
sion. 

Again,  there  are  certain  discourses,  simple,  familiar, 
unpremeditated,  which  are  not  really  sermons,  which 
contain  no  element  of  argument  or  intellectual  dis- 
cussion, which  never  approach  the  "  crisis  "  of  which 
we  have  spoken,  except  in  so  far  as  the  entire  discourse 
may  be  considered  as  dealing  with  the  passions,  feelings, 
and  sentiments  which  it  is  the  special  object  of  the 
"  crisis  "  to  influence  and  move.  Such  are  familiar  in- 
structions to  children,  exhortations  before  First  Com- 
munion, addresses  to  E-eligious,  etc.  In  these  and  like 
cases,  although  the  speaker  will  naturally  warm 
towards  the  end  of  his  discourse,  and  although  he  may 
even  recapitulate  in  one  sense,  still,  as  this  will  be 
merely  a  recapitulation  of  the  feelings  and  sentiments 
to  which  he  has  already  appealed,  his  conclusion  will 
not  be  substantially  different  from  the  rest  of  his  dis- 
course, and  can  scarcely  be  called  a  formal  peroration. 

But,  there  is  one  method  of  concluding  an  ordinary 
discourse,  and  by  an  ordinary  discourse  we  understand 
one  that  is  partly  argumentative  and  partly  exhortatory, 


246         EXTEMPOEARY  PREACHING. 

which  is  practical,  easy,  and  most  appropriate ;  which  it 
ought  to  give  the  speaker  no  great  trouble  to  employ ; 
and  which,  if  it  be  discreetly  used,  will  save  him  from 
all  those  inconvenient  consequences  at  which  we  have 
already  glanced. 

This  form  or  method  of  concluding  will  embrace,  in 
a  broad  general  way,  two  great  leading  parts  or  points, 
each  one  most  practical,  and  each  one  most  easy  to 
seize.  And  these  two  great  points  are,  first,  a  recapi- 
tulation and  summary  of  the  principal  heads  of  the 
discourse;  and,  secondly,  a  few  words  of  such  warm, 
earnest,  and  zealous  exhortation  as  may  penetrate  the 
most  hidden  recesses  of  every  heart,  may  change  every 
will,  and  render  the  triumph  of  grace  signal  and  com- 
plete. 

The  first  point,  then,  in  a  successful  conclusion  will 
be  a  brief  recapitulation  and  summary  of  the  most 
striking  features  of  the  discourse,  and  especially  of  those 
arguments,  illustrations,  etc.,  which  we  deem  most  con- 
ducive to  persuasion,  and  best  adapted  to  pave  the  way 
for  that  grand  coup,  for  that  last  final  assault,  which  we 
are  presently  to  make  upon  the  feelings  of  our  hearers, 
fn  order  to  carry  all  before  us,  in  order  to  soften  every 
heart,  to  bow  every  head,  and  bend  every  stubborn  knee 
before  the  sweet  yoke  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  preacher, 
therefore,  having  disposed  of  the  instructive,  argument 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  247 

tative,  and  illustrative  parts  of  his  discourse,  sees  that 
the  time  has  come  to  wind  up,  and  bring  that  discourse 
to  a  happy  conclusion.    Hence,  he  proceeds  to  recall  as 
much  of  his  discourse  as  can  be  recalled  in  a  few  short 
sentences,  because  he  feels  instinctively  that  by  pre- 
senting his  arguments,  etc.,  in  one  serried,  compact  body, 
they  will  naturally  produce  a  greater  impression  upon 
the  mind  and  heart,  and  gain  a  more  complete  victory 
over  his  hearers,  than  they  have    yet  done,   brought 
forward  as  they  have  been  without  that  strength  and 
vigour  which  they  will  acquire  from  mutual  support. 
But,  as  the  argumentation  has  been  already  concluded, 
and  we  must  neither  venture  to  return  upon  it  ourselves 
in  any  substantial  measure  or  degree,  nor  allow  our 
hearers  to  perceive,  in  so  far  as  this  may  be  practicable, 
that  we  are  merely  recapitulating,  this  recapitulation 
must  be  extremely  brief,  rapid,  and.  as  we  hive  just 
said,  as  imperceptible  as  possible  to  the  audience.    Our 
object  here  is  not  to  return  to  the  consideration  of  any 
special  portion  of  our  discourse,  but  to  renew  the  impres- 
sion of  the  whole  ;  and  to  do  this  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
interest,  to  move,  to  persuade  our  hearers,  or,  at  least, 
to  dispose   and   prepare   them  to    be  persuaded ;  and 
nothing  would  be  more  fatal  to  our  object  than  the  idea 
that    the    preacher  was    preparing   to    reconduct    his 
audience    over   the  ground  which    they    had    already 


248  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

travelled  with  so  much  patient  labour,  and  so  much 
ready  and  diligent  attention. 

Having  thus  briefly  recapitulated  the  leading  heads 
of  his  discourse,  and  having  done  this  with  such  energy 
and  warmth,  with  such  an  absence  of  anything  like 
formal  or  premeditated  recapitulation,  as  to  make  it 
appear  as  if  in  reality  he  were  appealing  to  the  passions 
rather  than  to  the  reason,  he  passes  on  to  the  second 
part  of  his  conclusion,  which,  in  truth,  constitutes  the 
peroration  strictly  so  called,  and  upon  his  skilful  or 
unskilful  management  of  which  so  much  of  his  success 
will  depend. 

This  element  of  bis  peroration,  or  conclusion,  consists 
in  a  few  words,  or,  at  most,  in  a  few  sentences, 
of  earnest,  burning,  truly  zealous  exhortation.  Al- 
though brief,  but  warm,  exhortation  may  have  had  its 
place  in  other  parts  of  his  sermon,  and  notably  at  the 
conclusion  of  each  leading  point,  it  is  now  that  what  we 
have  called  the  crisis  of  the  discourse  will,  as  a  general 
rule,  occur.  This  is  the  moment  in  which  the  preacher 
is  to  bear  down,  with  all  his  forces,  upon  the  already 
wavering,  or  yet  stubborn  will.  This  is  the  moment  in 
which,  expressing  in  burning,  but  in  plain  and  simple 
words,  those  practical  conclusions,  and  those  fervent 
resolutions  regarding  a  more  holy  and  Christian  mode 
of  life,  which  must  be  the  natural  fruit  of  every  really 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  249 

successful  discourse,  he  must  carry,  not  only  conviction 
to  every  mind,  but  persuasion  to  every  heart.  Now  is 
the  time  in  which  the  appeal  to  the  passions,  par  ex- 
cellence, will  have  full  play.  Now  is  the  moment  in 
which  the  speaker  will  prove  how  much  or  how  little 
of  the  true  fire  burns  within  his  heart.  Now  is  the 
time  for  the  sparkling  eye,  the  ringing  voice,  the  im- 
passioned gesture  of  his  hand,  to  make  themselves 
known  and  felt.  Now,  or  never,  is  he  to  stand  before 
his  audience  in  the  fullest,  truest,  deepest  sense  of  the 
word,  their  master  and  their  lord  ;  their  master  in  the 
light  of  the  truth,  and  their  lord  in  the  strength  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Now  every  intellect  must  bow, 
now  every  heart  must  melt,  beneath  the  irresistible 
influence  of  his  words ;  of  those  words  which  are  irre- 
sistible because  they  are  the  words  of  a  man  who, 
although  he  may  not  be  very  learned,  nor  very  deeply 
skilled  in  worldly  things,  speaks  with  the  accent  of  one 
who  believes  what  he  proclaims,  who  practises  what  he 
preaches,  whose  soul  is  all  on  fire  with  ardent  love  for 
the  welfare  of  his  flock,  with  unquenchable  zeal  for 
the  greater  glory  of  Jesus  Christ:  the  words  of  a  man  who 
never  wearies  of  proclaiming  to  the  world,  to  the  will- 
ing and  to  the  unwilling,  to  the  just  and  to  the  unjust, 
to  the  sinner  and  to  the  saint,  the  rights,  the  preroga- 
tives, and  the  attributes  of  his  master,  Jesus  Christ — 


250  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

of  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for 
ever.  Now,  in  one  word,  is  the  moment  in  which  the 
heart  of  the  true  orator  answers  with  keen  instinct,  and 
ready  impulse,  to  the  demands  which  are  made  upon 
it;  now  is  the  moment  in  which  the  true  orator  will 
rise  to  the  full  dignity  of  his  position  as  minister  of 
Christ,  as  guide  and  teacher  of  his  fellow-men ;  and 
now  is  the  moment  in  which,  having  won  his  victory 
and  carried  his  point,  the  man  who  is  wise  with  the 
priceless  wisdom  of  experience,  will  know  how  to  con- 
clude his  discourse,  how  to  descend  from  the  sacred 
chair,  whilst  the  success  of  his  appeal  is  at  its  very 
height,  whilst  the  power  of  his  language,  and  the  force 
of  his  words,  is  as  yet  unquestioned  and  unimpaired. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  picture  we  have  drawn  of  the 
orator,  and  of  his  success,  is  too  much  of  a  fancy  one ; 
or,  at  all  events,  that  it  is  one  which  is  rarely  realized. 
Perhaps  so.  But  we  venture  to  think  that  it  is  a  true 
one,  nevertheless,  and  that  it  is  just  in  proportion  as  a 
man  can  succeed  in  realizing  it  that  he  will  succeed  in 
realizing  the  dignity  of  his  position,  and  the  solid  tri- 
umphs which  await  him,  and  which  are  his  legitimate 
rights,  as  a  minister  of  God,  and  as  a  preacher  of  that 
Gospel  which  is  living  and  efficacious,  which  penetrates 
the  soul,  and  is  keener,  in  the  mouth  of  him  who  knows 
how  to  use  it,  than  a  two-edged  sword. 


HOW  TO   CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  251 

It  is  needless  to  repeat  that  the  peroration,  or  con- 
clusion, is  the  portion  of  a  discourse  in  which,  above  all 
others,  the  appeal  to  the  passions  has  its  proper  place. 
Nor,  having  treated  at  great  length  in  "  Sacred  Elo- 
queuce"*  of  the  nature  of  these  appeals,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  to  be  conducted,  need  we  now  delay 
longer  upon  this  matter.  It  will  suffice  to  remind  the 
young  preacher,  that  the  peroration  of  his  discourse  will, 
if  it  is  to  be  successful,  necessarily  be  brief,  since  all 
appeals  to  the  passions  are  incapable  of  being  unduly 
prolonged  :  that  in  these  last  moments,  when  the  will 
is  finally  to  be  gained,  all  must  be  strong,  vigorous,  pas- 
sionate, warm  from  the  heart :  that,  in  one  word,  this 
is  the  crowning  portion  of  his  address  for  which  he 
must  reserve  all  that  is  most  true,  most  ardent,  and 
most  precious,  in  reason,  heart,  and  tongue.  "  Quce 
excellant,  serventur  ad  perorandum.''  ..."  ffic,  si 
unquam,  totos  eloquentiw  fontes  aperire  licei." 

After  these  preliminary  remarks  on  the  nature,  ob- 
ject, and  best  method  of  concluding  a  discourse,  we  can- 
not, probably,  bring  this  chapter  to  a  close  in  a  more 
useful  manner,  than  by  selecting  a  few  examples  of  per- 
orations employed  by  well-known  writers,  which  the 
young  preacher  may  study  at  his  leisure. 

*  '*  Sacred  Eloquence,"  chap.  9,  sec.  i.  ii.  iii.  iv.  v. 


252  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

Our  first  example  is  taken  from  St.  Liguori's  "  Ser- 
mons for  all  the  Sundays  of  the  year."*  These  dis- 
courses are  remarkable  for  their  solidity  of  matter,  and 
aim  much  more  at  sus^'g'estinQ^  substantial  and  leadingf 
ideas,  than  at  eloquence  of  language  or  elaboration  of 
detail.  In  the  sermon  at  present  under  notice,  the 
preacher  has  been  considering  the  various  circumstances 
of  soul  and  body  which  ordinarily  accompany  the  death 
of  men  of  the  world,  and  he  concludes  in  the  following 
simple,  but  striking  words,  which,  as  is  evident,  contain 
a  resume  of  the  whole  matter : — 

"  Before  the  body  is  cold,  he  is  covered  with  a  worn- 
out  garment ;  because  it  must  soon  rot  with  him  in  the 
grave.  Two  lighted  candles  are  placed  in  the  chamber ; 
the  curtain  of  the  bed  on  which  the  dead  man  lies  is  let 
down ;  and  he  is  left  alone.  The  parish  priest  is  sent 
for,  and  requested  to  come  in  the  morning  and  take 
away  the  corpse.  The  priest  comes ;  the  deceased  is 
carried  to  the  church  ;  and  this  is  his  last  journey  on 
this  earth.  The  priests  begin  to  sing  the  '  De  profun- 
dis  clamavi  ad  te,  Domine,'  etc.  The  spectators,  who 
look  at  the  funeral  as  it  passes,  speak  of  the  deceased. 
One  says  :  He  ivas  a  proud  man.     Another  :  0  that  he 

*  James  Duffy,  Sons,  and  Co.,  Dublin. 


HOW  TO   CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  253 

had  died  ten  years  ago,     A  third  :  He  tvas  fortunate 
in  the  world ;  he  made  a  great  deal  of  money ;  he  had 
a  fine  house  ;  hut  now  he   takes  nothing  with  him. 
And  while  they  speak  of  him  in  this  manner,  he  is  burn- 
ing in   Hell.     He  arrives  at  the  church,  and  is  placed 
in  the  middle,  surrounded  by  six   candles.     The  by- 
standers look  at  him,  but  suddenly  turn  away  their  eyes, 
because  his  appearance  excites  horror.     The  Mass  is 
sung  for  his  repose,  and  after  Mass,  the  '  Libera  /  and 
the  function  is  concluded  with  these  words  :  Eequiescat 
in  pace — May  he  rest  in  peace.     May  he  rest  in  peace, 
if  he  died  in  peace  with  God ;  but  if  he  has  died  in 
enmity  with  God,  what  peace  !  what  peace  can  he  enjoy  ? 
He  shall  have  no  peace  as  long-  as  God  shall  be  God. 
The  sepulchre  is  then  opened;  the  corpse  is  thrown 
into  it ;  the  grave  is  covered  with  a  tombstone  ;  and  he 
is  left  there    to    rot,  and  to  be  the  food  of   worms. 
It  is  thus  that  the  scene  of  this  world  ends  for  each  of 
us.     His  relatives  put  on  mourning;  but  they  first  di- 
vide among  themselves  the  property  which  he  has  left. 
They  shed  an  occasional  tear  for  two  or  three  days,  and 
afterwards  forget  him.    And  what  shall  become  of  him  ? 
If  he  be  saved,  he  shall  be  happy  for  ever ;  if  damned, 
he  must  be  miserable  for  eternity." 

Our  next  extract  is  from  Massillon,  the  great  French 


254         EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

preacher.     Massillon  is  a  writer  who,  we  venture  to 
think,  will  be  more  admired  the  more  he  is  studied.     It 
has  been  said  of  his  eloquence,  that  it  goes  right  to  the 
soul :  it  agitates  without  confounding,  appals  without 
crushing,  penetrates  without  lacerating.     His  diction, 
which  is  always  easy,  elegant,  and  pure,  never  deviates 
from  that  simplicity  which   alone  is  reconcilable  with 
good  taste ;  while  for  clearness  of  reasoning,  power  of 
illustration,  and  order  of  arrangement,  he  stands  almost 
unrivalled ;    and   the   young   preacher,    exercising,    of 
course,  due  discretion  as  to  the  sermons  he  selects,  and 
the  manner  in  which  he  employs  them,  could  scarcely, 
omnibus  pensatis,  take  a  better  model.     In  the  course 
of  this  work,  chap.  13,  we  have  alluded  to  Massillon's 
discourse  on  "the  Happiness  of  the  Just,"  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  treats  his  subject.     He  concludes  his 
sermon  with  the  following  beautiful  words,  which  are 
at  once  a  resume  and  an  exhortation  : — 

"  Would  you  then,  my  dear  hearer,  live  happy  on  the 
earth  ?  Live  Christianly.  Piety  is  universally  beneficial. 
Innocence  of  heart  is  the  source  of  true  pleasures.  Turn 
to  every  side ;  there  is  no  rest,  says  the  Spirit  of  God, 
for  the  wicked.  Try  every  pleasure ;  they  will  never 
eradicate  that  disease  of  the  mind,  that  fund  of  lassitude 
and  gloom,  which,  go  where  you  will,  continually  accom- 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  255 

panies  you.  Cease,  then,  to  consider  the  lot  of  the  godly 
as  a  disagreeable  and  sorrowful  lot ;  judge  not  their 
happiness  from  appearances  which  deceive  you.  You 
see  their  countenance  bedewed  with  tears,  but  you  see 
not  the  invisible  hand  which  wipes  them  away ;  you  see 
their  body  groaning  under  the  yoke  of  penitence,  but 
you  see  not  the  unction  of  grace  which  softens  it;  you 
see  sorrowful  and  austere  manners,  but  you  see  not  a 
conscience  always  cheerful  and  tranquil.  They  are  like 
the  ark  in  the  desert :  it  appeared  covered  only  with  the 
skins  of  animals  :  the  exterior  is  mean  or  unattractive; 
it  is  the  condition  of  that  melancholy  desert.  But,  could 
you  penetrate  into  the  heart,  into  that  divine  sanctuary, 
what  new  wonders  would  rise  to  your  eyes  !  You  would 
find  it  clothed  in  pure  gold :  you  would  there  see  the 
glory  of  God  with  which  it  is  filled :  you  would  there 
admire  the  fragrance  of  the  perfumes,  and  the  fervour 
of  the  prayers  which  are  continually  mounting  upwards 
to  the  Lord ;  the  sacred  fire  which  is  never  extin- 
guished on  the  altar ;  that  silence,  that  peace,  that 
majesty  which  reigns  there ;  and  the  Lord  himself,  who 
hath  chosen  it  for  his  abode,  and  who  hath  delighted 
m  it. 

We  have  already  given  the  reader  some  idea  of  the 
wonderfully  vigorous  language  in  which  Father  Segneri 


256  ^  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

was  accustomed  to  introduce  and  to  develop  the  sub- 
jects on  which  he  spoke.  Let  us  now  call  his  attention 
to  the  following  beautifully  pathetic,  but  strong  and 
vigorous  passage,  from  the  peroration  of  Segneri's  ser- 
mon "  On  the  Sinner's  Quiet  Conscience :" — 

"  But  why  speak  of  evil  spirits  ?     Christ  Himself  will 
be  at  hand  to  upbraid  you  with -His  own  mouth  for  all 
the  ingratitude  you  have  heaped  on  His  Blood.     And 
what  confidence  will  you  then  repose  in  one,  who  has 
taken  care  to  set  down,  in  minute  detail,  even  '  every 
idle  word '  you  have  spoken,  not  to  mention  your  slan- 
ders, your  blasphemies,  your  falsehoods  ?     I  fancy  I 
behold  Him,  how  He  will  appear  before  you  at  your  last 
struggle — naked,  wounded,  gory,  and  besmeared  with 
blood.     On   His  right  side  and  on  His  left  are   His 
ministering  angels,  armed  with  storm  and  terror,  while, 
bearing  in  His  hand  the  ponderous  register  of  all  human 
delinquencies.  He  will  begin   reading    over  yours  in 
regular  succession,  sounding  aloud,  as  He  proceeds,  in 
the  ears  of  your  conscience,  now  no  longer  sealed  in 
deafness,  those  fearful  words  in  the  Psalm  :  These  tilings 
thou  hast  done,  and  1  kept  silence  (xlix.  21).     'Thou, 
from  thy  childhood  to  thy  youth,  and  from  thy  youth  to 
thy  riper  years,  hast  committed  all  manner  of   evil 
against  Me — and  I  kept  silence ;  in  all  thy  past  life. 


HOW  TO   COXCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  257 

thou  hast  rejected  and  despised  everything  that  I  com- 
manded thee,  as  being  good  for  thy  soul  and  conducive 
to  My  honour  and  glory — and  I  kept  silence ;  thou  hast 
gone  on  rioting  and  revelling  in  thine  own  way,  after 
the  wickedness  of  thine  heart  and  the  course  of  this 
world — and  I  kept  silence  ;  even  to  thine  old  age,  thou 
hast  obstinately  persisted  in  thy  vicious  habits,  and  gone 
on  adding  sin  to  sin — and  I  kept  silence.  And  didst 
thou  then  indulge  the  thought — didst  thou  think 
wickedly,  that  I  was  such  a  one  as  thyself  t  Didst  thou 
think,  that  I  should  always  keep  silence — that  I  should 
never  be  roused  to  resentment  ?  /  have  long  time 
holden  My  peace  ;  I  have  been  still  and  refrained 
myself ;  hut  nov:  I  will  cry  like  a  travailing  woman 
(Isa.  xxii.  1-i).  And,  forasmuch  as  during  all  thy  life 
thou  didst  never  prize  My  Blood,  but  didst  shamefully 
trample  it  under  foot,  as  the  dung  of  the  earth,  behold, 
this  same  Blood,  which  would  have  been  thy  redemp- 
tion, is  turned  to  thy  condemnation  !'  " — On  the  Sinners 
Quiet  Conscience. 

In  the  way  of  resume,  at  once  liistorical  and  pathetic, 

expressed  in  graceful  language,  and  with  a  depth  of 

genuine   but   truly    dignified    feeling,    nothing    more 

striking  could  easily  be  found  than  the  peroration  to 

the  Archbishop  of  Westminster's   funeral  oration  on 

IS 


258  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

Cardinal  Wiseman.  To  appreciate  fully  the  significance 
and  meaning  of  these  beautiful  words,  we  must  call  to 
mind  tke  intimate  relations  which  existed  between  these 
two  illustrious  men,  and  the  wonderful  part  which,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  they  were  called,  each  one  in  his 
own  time,  to  take,  in  watching  the  early  promise,  in 
fostering  and  protecting  the  first  fair  fruits  of  that 
Second  Spring  of  the  English  Church,  which  already 
gives  such  hopeful  presage  of  maturity  and  strength. 
The  archbishop  thus  concludes  his  oration  : — 

* 

"  Great  and  noble  in  his  life,  he  was  greater  and 
nobler  in  his  death.  There  were  about  it  a  calmness,  a 
recollection,  a  majesty,  an  order  of  perfect  fitness  and 
preparation  worthy  of  the  chamber  of  death,  and  such 
as  became  the  last  hours  of  a  Pastor  and  Prince  of  the 
Church  of  God.  He  was  a  great  Christian  in  all  the 
deepest,  largest,  simplest,  meaning  of  the  name ;  and  a 
great  Priest  in  thought,  word,  and  deed,  in  the  whole 
career  of  his  life  and  in  the  mould  of  his  whole  being. 
He  died  the  death  of  the  just,  making  a  worthy  and 
proportionate  end  to  a  course  so  great. 

"  We  have  lost  a  Friend,  a  Father,  and  a  Pastor,  whose 
memory  will  be  with  us  while  life  lasts.  As  one  who 
knew  him  well,  said  well  of  him,  '  We  are  all  lowered 
by  his  loss.'     We  have  all  lost  somewhat  which  was  our 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  259 

support,  our  strength,  our  guidance,  our  pattern,  and 
our  pride.     We  have  lost  him  who,  in  the  face  of  this 
great  people,  worthily  represented  the  greatness  and  the 
majesty  of  the  Universal  Church.     He  has  fallen  asleep 
in  the  midst  of  the  generous,  kindly,  just,  noble-hearted 
sympathy  of  the  people,  the  public  men,  the  public 
voices  of  England  ;  a  great  people,  strong  and  bold  in 
its  warfare,  but  humane,  chivalrous,  and  Christian  to  the 
antagonists  who  are  worthy  to  contend  with  it.     He  is 
Sfone,  but  he  has  left  behind  him  in  our  memories  a  long: 
line  of  historical  pictures,  traced  in  the  light  of  other 
days  upon  a  field  which  will  retain  its  colours  fresh  and 
vivid   for  ever.     Some  of  you  remember  him  as  the 
companion   of  your   boyhood,  upon  the  bare  hills  of 
Durham ;  some  in  the  early  morning  of  his  life,  in  the 
sanctuaries  of  Rome ;  soQie  see  before  them  now  his 
slender,  stooping  form,  on  a  bright  winter's  day,  walking 
to  the  Festival  of  St.  Agnes,  out  of  the  walls;  some  again, 
drawn  up  to  the  full  stature  of  his  manhood,  rising  above 
the  storm,  and  contending  with  the  calm,  commanding 
voice  of  reason  against  the  momentary  excitement  of  the 
people  of  England.     Some  again  can  see  him  vested  and 
arrayed  as  a  Prince  of  the   Church  with  the  twelve 
Suffragans   of  England   closing    the    long    procession 
wdiich  opened  the  first  Provincial  S3^nod  of  Westminster, 
after  the  silence  of  three  hundred  years.     Some  will 


260  EXTEMPORARY   PREACHING. 

picture  him  in  the  great  hall  of  a  Roman  palace,  sur- 
rounded by  half  the  Bishops  of  the  world,  of  every 
language  and  of  every  land,  chosen  by  them  as  their 
chief,  to  fashion  their  words  in  declaring  to  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff   their    filial    obedience    to    the    Spiritual   and 
Temporal  power  with  which  God  has  invested  the  Vicar 
of  His  Son.     Some  will  see  him  feeble  in  death,  but 
strong  in  faith,  arrayed  as  a  Pontiff,  surrounded  by  the 
Chapter  of  his  Church,  by  word  and  deed  verifying  the 
Apostle's    testimony,  '  I  have    fought  a  good   fight,  I 
have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith ;'  and 
some  will  cherish   above  all  these  visions  of  greatness 
and  of  glory,  the  calm,  sweet  countenance  of  their  best, 
fastest  friend  and  father,  lying  in  the  dim  light  of  his 
chamber,  not  of  death,  but  of  transit  to  his  crown.  These 
things  are  visions,  but  they  are  substance.     'Transit 
gloria  mundi '  as  the  flax  burns  in  fire.    But  these  things 
shall  not  pass  away.     Bear  him  forth,  Right  Reverend 
Fathers  and   dear  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ — bear  him 
forth  to  the  green  burial-ground  on  the  outskirts  of  this 
busy  wilderness  of  men.     It  was  his  desire  to  die  and  to 
be  buried,  not  amid  the  glories  of  Rome,  but  in  the 
midst    of  his   flock,  the   first  Cardinal  Archbishop  of 
Westminster.     Lay   him  in  the  midst  of  that  earth,  as 
a  shepherd  in  the  midst  of  his  sheep,  near  to  the  Holy 
Cross,  the  symbol  of  his  life,  work,  and  hope;  where  the 


HOW  TO   CONCLUDE   THE   DISCOURSE.  2G1 

Pastors  be  lias  ordained  will  be  buried  one  by  one  in  a 
circle  round  about  him  in  death,  as  they  laboured  round 
about  him  in  life.  He  will  be  in  the  midst  of  us  still — 
his  name,  his  form,  his  words,  his  patience,  his  love  of 
souls — to  be  our  law,  our  rebuke,  our  consolation.  And 
yet,  not  so :  it  is  but  the  body  of  this  death  which  you 
bear  forth  with  tears  of  loving  veneration.  He  is  not 
here.  He  will  not  be  there.  He  is  already  where  the 
Great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep  is  numbering  His  elect, 
and  those  who  led  them  to  the  Fold  of  Eternal  Life. 
And  the  hands  which  have  so  often  blessed  you,  w'hich 
anointed  you,  which  fed  you  with  the  Bread  of  Life, 
are  already  lifted  up  in  prayer,  which  never  ceases  day 
nor  night  for  you,  one  by  one,  for  England,  for  the 
Church  in  all  the  world." 

Finally,  in  the  conclusion  to  Dr.  Newman's  mag- 
nificent sermon  on  "The  Neo^lect  of  Divine  Calls 
and  Warnings,"*  the  young  preacher  will  discover  at  a 
glance  the  various  points  which  we  have  mentioned  as 
specially  characteristic  of  a  good  peroration.  Nothing 
could  be  more  simple,  more  plainly  to  the  point,  and  yet 
more  full  of  tender  love  and  charity,  than  the  recapitu- 
lation of  the  leadinfj  ideas  which  have  been  treated  in 
the  discourse,  whilst  the   concluding  lines  breathe  a 

*  "  Discourses  addressed  to  IVIixed  Congregations." 


262  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

fragrant  beauty,  and  a  touching  pathos,  which  seem  to 
us  as  near  perfection  as  they  well  can  be : — 

"  Vanity  of  vanities !  misery  of  miseries !  they  will 
not  attend  to  us,  they  will  not  believe  us.     We  are 
but  a  few    in  number,  and  they  are  many;  and  the 
many  v/ill  not  give  credit  to  the  few.     0  misery  of 
miseries !     Thousands  are  dying  daily  ;  they  are  waking 
up  into  God's  everlasting  wrath ;  they  look  back  on  the 
days  of  the  flesh,  and  call  them  few  and  evil;  they 
despise   and    scorn  the    very    reasonings    which  then 
they  trusted  and  which  have  been  disproved  by  the 
event ;  they  curse  the  recklessness  which  made  them  put 
off  repentance ;  they  have   fallen    under   His  justice, 
whose  mercy  they  presumed  upon ;  and  their  compa- 
nions and  friends  are  going  on  as  they  did,  and  are  soon 
to  join  them.     As  the  last  generation  presumed,  so  does 
the  present.     The  father  would  not  believe  God  could 
punish,  and  now  the  son  will  not  believe;  the  father 
was  indignant  when  eternal  pain  was  spoken  of,  and  the 
son  gnashes  his  teeth,  and  smiles  contemptuously.    The 
world  spoke  well  of  itself  thirty  years  ago,  and  so  will 
it  thirty  years  to  come.     And  thus  it  is  that  this  vast 
flood  of  life  is  carried  on  from  age  to  age ;  myriads 
trifling  with  God's  love,  tempting  His  justice,  and,  like 
the  herd  of  swine,  falling  headlong  down  the  steep  !     0 


HOW  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  DISCOURSE.  2G3 

mighty  God !  0  God  of  love  !  it  is  too  mucli !  it  broke 
the  heart  of  thy  sweet  Son  Jesus  to  see  the  misery  of 
man  spread  out  before  His  eyes.  He  died  by  it  as  well 
as  for  it.  And  we  too,  in  our  measure,  our  eyes  ache, 
and  our  hearts  sicken,  and  our  heads  reel,  when  we  but 
feebly  contemplate  it.  0  most  tender  heart  of  Jesus, 
why  wilt  Thou  not  end,  when  wilt  Thou  end,  this  ever- 
growing load  of  sin  and  woe  ?  When  wait  Thou  chase 
away  the  devil  into  his  own  hell,  and  close  the  pit's 
mouth,  that  Thy  chosen  may  rejoice  in  Thee,  quitting 
the  thought  of  those  who  perish  in  their  wilfulness  1 
But,  oh !  by  those  five  dear  Wounds  in  Hands,  and 
Feet,  and  Side — perpetual  founts  of  mercy,  from  which 
the  fulness  of  the  Eternal  Trinity  flows  ever  fresh,  ever 
powerful,  ever  bountiful  to  all  who  seek  Thee — if  the 
world  must  still  endure,  at  least  gather  Thou  a  larger 
and  a  larger  harvest,  an  ampler  proportion  of  souls  out 
of  it  into  Thy  garner,  that  these  latter  times  may,  in 
sanctity,  and  glory,  and  the  triumphs  of  Thy  grace, 
exceed  the  former. 

" '  Deus  misereatur  nostri,  et  henedicat  nobis ; 
God,  have  mercy  on  us,  and  bless  us ;  and  show  the 
light  of  His  countenance  upon  us,  and  have  mercy  on 
us ;  that  we  may  know  Thy  way  upon  earth.  Thy  salva- 
tion among  all  the  nations.  Let  the  people  jDraise 
Thee,  0  God ;  let  all  the  people  praise  Thee.     Let  the 


264?  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

DatioDS  be  glad,  and  leap  for  joy ;  because  Thou  dost 
judge  the  people  in  equity,  and  dost  direct  the  nations 
on  the  earth.  God,  even  our  God,  bless  us,  God  bless 
us ;  and  let  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  fear  Him.'  *' 

We  offer  no  apology  for  the  length  of  these  extracts. 
They  surely  speak  for  themselves.  If  he  study  them 
in  the  light  of  the  principles  which  we  have  ventured  to 
suggest  and  throw  out,  we  hope,  as  we  believe,  that 
they  will  be  of  great  service  to  the  young  preacher. 


CHAPTER  XYIIL 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT — STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT  IS  ESSEN- 
TIALLY POPULAR — CHARACTERISTICS  OF  A  POPULAR 
STYLE,   IN   THE   TRUE   ACCEPTATION   OF   THE   TERM. 

HE  young  preacher  having  now  accompanied  us 
throusfh  the  various  stag^es  which  are  involved 
in  the  preparation  and  delivery  of  an  extemporary  dis- 
c^'iise,  we  cannot,  perhaps,  conclude  these  remarks  in 
a  manner  at  once  more  useful  and  more  acceptable  to 
him,  than  by  a  few  words  on  the  Style  of  the  Pulpit, 
more  especially  in  its  relation  to  extemporary  preach- 
ing. 

Premising  that  we  speak  of  style  in  the  broadest  and 
widest  acceptation  of  the  term — taking  it  for  granted 
that,  whilst  the  sacred  orator  must,  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  varying  circumstances,  be  prepared,  on 
some  occasions,  to  rise  to  the  highest  flights  of  eloquence 
of  which  he  may  be  capable,  just  as  he  must,  more  fre- 
quently, be  ready  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  hum- 
ble capacity  of  the  simple  and  the  unlearned — we  may 


266  EXTEMPOKARY  PREACHING. 

fairly  ask  whether  there  is  any  one  quality  of  oratory 
which  can  be  assigned  as  the  special  characteristic  of 
Popular  Pulpit  Eloquence. 

There  are,  undoubtedly,  certain  solemn  occasions  on 
which  the  people  are  prepared  to  hear  sublime  and 
elevated  subjects  treated  in  the  most  finished  manner, 
adorned  and  enriched  with  all  the  dignity  and  grace 
which  can  be  imparted  to  them  by  profundity  of  con- 
ception, and  by  polished  and  eloquent  language — in  a 
word,  b}?"  all  the  ornaments  of  style,  and  all  the  graces 
of  a  finished  and  vigorous  elocution.  But,  it  is  evident 
that  these  efforts  must  be  very  exceptional,  and  that 
the  qualities  which  render  such  discourses  perfect  in 
their  way,  can  never  constitute  the  characteristics  of 
the  more  ordinary  and  every-day  style  of  preaching. 
For,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  very  first  condition  of 
public  speaking  is  to  be  intelligible.  But,  as  the  ma- 
jority of  those  whom  the  preacher  will,  in  all  ordinary 
circumstances,  be  called  upon  to  address,  will  be  com- 
posed of  the  simple,  the  ignorant,  and  the  unlettered,  it 
is  plain,  that  if  he  is  to  be  intelligible  to  them,  he  can- 
not speak  in  high-flown  language,  or  in  profundity  of 
thought.  And,  when  to  this  we  add  that  ignorance  on 
matters  of  religion  and  duty  is  not  confined  to  the  poor 
and  the  unlettered,  but  that  it  is  not  unfrequently  to 
be  met  with  amongst  those  who  occupy  a  respectable 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT.  267 

position  in  society,  and  who  are  well  instructed  in  mere 
worldly  affairs,  is  it  not  evident  that  the  language  of 
the  preacher  who  is  to  address  such  audiences  as  these 
with  fruit  and  success,  must  be  of  a  very  different  cha- 
racter from  that  of  which  we  have  spoken  above  ?    The 
people  themselves  are  the  very  first  to  understand  this. 
They  may  listen  with  pleasure,  from  time  to  time,  to  a 
display  of  finished  oratory,  in  which,  may  be,  the  pass- 
ing triumph  which  is  reaped  by  the  speaker  is  much 
greater  than  the  solid  profit  which  is  derived  by  the 
listener ;  but  the  good  sense  and  the  faith  of  a  religious 
people  are  strong  enough  to  cause  them  to  understand, 
that  the  true  preacher,  the  true  minister  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  should  ambition  far  different  triumphs  than 
these.     They  may  listen,  as  we  have  just  said,  to  the 
great  orator  from  time  to  time,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
they  take  but  little  interest  in  his  polished  language 
and  his  glowing  style,  and  are  quick  to  pass  judgment 
on  a  discourse  which  seems  to  them,  rightly  or  wrongly, 
to  savour  much  of  vanity  and  self-seeking,  little  of  zeal 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls.     The 
preacher  whom  they  love,  respect,  and  revere — to  whom 
they  listen  with  pleasure,  and  from  whom  they  part 
with  regret — is  the  man  who  speaks  to  them  from  a 
heart  that  is  all  on  fire  with  charity  and  love;  who 
speaks  the  plain,  simple  truth   in  plain  and  simple 


268  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

words ;  who  is  vastly  more  anxious  to  soften  their 
hearts,  and  to  cause  the  saving  tears  of  penance  to  flow 
down  their  cheeks,  than  to  win  their  approbation  and 
their  empty  praise.  This  is  the  man  whom  they  love, 
around  whom  they  are  anxious  to  press ;  this  is  the 
man  who,  whilst  he  enlightens  and  instructs,  moves 
and  softens  every  heart.  This  is  the  man  who  conquers 
without  seeming  to  fight,  who  secures  the  deepest  and 
most  lasting  results  without  apparent  labour  or  effort. 
This  is  the  man  whose  style  of  preaching  exemplifies, 
in  the  most  striking  manner,  the  quality  which  maybe 
fairly  and  justly  assigned  as  the  special  characteristic 
of  pulpit  oratory,  and  more  especially  of  Extemporary 
Preaching.  This  is  the  man  whose  style  of  preaching 
is  essentially  and  characteristically  popular. 

The  style  of  the  pulpit  is  essentially  a  popular  style ; 
not  a  popular  style  in  the  false  and  misused  meaning 
of  the  word,  as  signifying  empty  appeals  to  passion, 
prejudice,  or  mere  passing  sentiment  and  feeling;  but 
in  the  true  and  only  reasonable  acceptation  of  the  term, 
that  acceptation  in  which  Cicero  describes  popular 
speech  to  be  that  which  is  eminently  becoming — Quod 
decet.  And  from  all  that  we  have  said  above,  as  well 
as  through  the  entire  course  of  this  treatise,  we  venture 
to  hope  we  have  made  it  sufficiently  plain,  that  the 
only  style  of  speaking  which  truly  becomes  the  Chris- 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT.  2G9 

tian  orator  is  that  in  which,  discarding  all  subtle  rea- 
soning and  all  abstract  and  unpractical  forms  of  thought, 
all  laboured  composition  and  all  unnecessary  or  undue 
elaboration  of  his  language  and  his  mode  of  speech,  the 
preacher  strives,  by  the  simplicity,  the  purity,  the  clear- 
ness, the  gravity,  the  variety,  and,  above  all,  by  the 
earnestness  of  his  style,  to  render  his  discourse  duly 
interesting  and  solidly  useful  to  his  hearers.  This  is 
the  style  which  is  truly  becoming  in  the  priest  of  God 
— Quod  clecet  This  is  the  special  characteristic  of 
popular  preaching. 

Yes :  the  style  of  the  pulpit  is  essentially  popular. 
This  we  have  already  shown.  And  the  special  charac- 
teristics of  really  popular  speech  are  simplicity,  purity, 
clearness,  gravity,  interest,  and  earnest  warmth.  On 
these  qualities  we  now  purpose  to  say  a  few  words. 

A  popular  sermon  will  be  essentially  simple.  With- 
out aiminsT  at  hig^h-flown  lans^uaore,  or  without  de- 
scending  to  what  is  low  or  mean,  it  will  express  plain 
thoughts  in  plain  words.  And  simplicity  of  speech 
possesses  this  great  advantage  to  commence  with : 
whilst  it  can  easily  be  made  to  please  all  men,  it  is 
certain  to  benefit  all.  Moreover,  unless  spoken  lan- 
guage possess  this  quality,  it  will  fail,  at  least  so  far  as 
regards  the  majority  of  hearers,  in  the  very  first  essen- 
tial of  speech.     For  it  is  not  enough,  where  others  are 


270  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

concerned,  that  our  words  be  in  harmony  with,  and 
express,  our  ideas :  they  must  be  rigorously  adapted  to 
the  capacity  and  intelligence  of  our  hearers.  But,  it  is 
quite  certain,  that,  so  far  as  the  masses  are  concerned, 
all  abstract  ideas,  all  ingenious  reflections,  all  learned 
discussions,  are  totally  out  of  place.  If  we  would  speak 
to  the  hearts  of  the  people  we  must  speak  simply,  and 
be  content  to  express  simple  thoughts  in  simple  words. 
We  must  try,  in  one  sense,  to  descend  to  their  level,  to 
see  things  as  they  see  them,  and  to  feel  them  as  they 
feel  them.  And  hence  it  is,  that  really  popular  preach- 
ers have  always  been  so  much  addicted  to  the  use  of 
metaphors,  comparisons,  etc.  When  these  comparisons 
are  drawn  from  actual,  present,  or  visible  things,  they 
have  a  wonderful  influence,  more  especially  if  they  be 
striking  and  popular,  in  assisting  the  people  to  compre- 
hend and  appreciate  what  we  say.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  our  Divine  Lord  taught  the  people.  Although 
He  possessed  all  the  treasures  of  the  Divine  Science — 
although  He  was  the  very  source  and  fountain  of  Infi- 
nite Wisdom  itself — we  shall  probably  be  surprised,  on 
looking  through  the  Scriptures,  to  find  how  seldom  He 
argued  or  reasoned,  and  how  frequently  He  instructed 
and  taught.  In  this,  as  in  a^ll  things  else.  He  is  the 
model  and  the  exemplar  of  the  priest. 

If  our  spoken  language,  if  our  speech,  be  simple,  it 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT.  271 

must,  almost  as  a  necessary  cod  sequence,  be  clear. 
Indeed,  Gaichies  does  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  clear- 
ness is  the  first  quality,  and  most  essential  condition,  of 
popular  speaking.  All  the  rest,  he  says,  purity,  dignity, 
polish,  must  give  place  to  clearness ;  since  it  is  of  much 
less  consequence  to  be  criticised  by  the  grammarians 
than  misunderstood  by  the  people.  Nor  is  it  so  easy 
to  be  clear  as  may  appear  at  first  sight.  For,  as  the 
clearness  at  which  we  are  obliged  to  aim,  is  a  relative, 
and  not  an  absolute  clearness,  it  must  necessarily  be 
the  fruit  of  much  careful  study  of  our  subject  and  our 
audience.  In  fact,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  any 
part  of  his  preparation  requires  to  be  undertaken  with 
greater  care,  and  worked  out  with  more  thorough  and 
discriminating  perseverance,  than  his  study  hoiu  to  he 
understood.  If  he  doubt  this,  let  the  young  preacher 
reflect  for  a  moment  on  the  great  number  of  those  who, 
in  their  public  discourses,  sacred  or  otherwise,  fail  to 
convey  their  meaning  and  make  themselves  intelligible, 
and  this  not  merely  to  the  ignorant  and  uneducated, 
but  to  the  intelligent  portion  of  their  audience.  We 
shall  be  very  fortunate  if,  after  long  practice,  and  much 
studious  reflection,  we  succeed  in  acquiring  the  price- 
less quality  of  clearness.  What  aids  us  to  be  simple 
will,  at  the  same  time,  aid  us  to  be  clear.  If  we  accus- 
tom ourselves  to  speak  in  a  natural  manner,  without 


272  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

pomposity  or  empty  affectation ;  if  by  study,  thought, 
and  prayer,  we  fill  ourselves  with  our  subject,  and  then, 
without  undue  solicitude  or  over-anxious  care,  allow 
ourselves,  when  the  time  has  come,  to  speak  from  the 
abundance  of  the  heart,  we  shall  speak  simply  and 
clearly,  and,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  well.  '^  In 
omnibus  sermonihus  suis,"  says  St.  Augustine,  in  his 
instructions  to  preachers,  "  primitus  et  maxime,  id  in- 
telligantur,  elahorent,  ea  quantum  possunt  perspicui- 
tate  dicendi,  ut  aut  multum  tardus  sit,  qui  non  intel- 
ligat,  aut  in  rerum,  quas  explicare  aut  ostendere 
volumus,  difficultate  ac  suhtilitate,  non  in  nostra 
locutione  sit  causa,  quo  minus  tardiusve  quod  dici- 
mus,  possit  intelligi."* 

Popular  eloquence  most  assuredly  must  be  clear  and 
simple;  but  it  by  no  means  follows  from  this,  as  some 
seem  to  imagine,  that  it  need  be  low  or  vulgar.  Young 
writers  and  speakers  are  very  slow  to  learn  the  great 
truth  that,  so  far  from  clearness  and  simplicity  being 
incompatible  with  perfect  purity  of  style  and  of  compo- 
sition, they  constitute,  on  the  contrary,  its  finishing  and 
crowning  grace.  Whilst,  therefore,  the  sacred  orator 
will  not  much  concern  himself  about  any  great  elabora- 
tion of  his  style,  any  over-careful  trimming  of  his  sen- 

*  De  Doctr.  Christ.,  lib.  iv.  cap.  8, 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT.  273 

tences,  or  any  undue  affectation  of  elegance,  either  in 
composition  or  in  utterance,  he  will  ever  take  care  to 
speak  as  becomes  a  scholar  and  a  Christian  gentleman ; 
and  let  him  be  quite  certain  that  if,  under  a  mistaken 
idea  of  rendering  himself  more  acceptable  or  more  in-> 
telligible  to  them,  he  descends  to  their  level,  and  for- 
gets the  dignity  of  the  pulpit  by  the  use  of  coarse,  un- 
polished, and  unbecoming  language,  the  people  will  be 
the  first  to  take  offence  at  this,  and  to  resent  the  liberty 
which  such  a  speaker  'takes  with  their  understanding 
and  good  taste.  They  expect  a  preacher  to  speak  to 
them  simply,  and  in  intelligible  language,  but  they 
expect  him,  at  the  same  time,  to  remember  the  position 
which  he  occupies.  They  will  strive  their  utmost  to 
rise  to  his  level,  at  least  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  compre- 
hend his  meaning,  but  they  do  not  wish  him  to  descend 
to  theirs.  The  prudent  preacher  will  never  lose  sight 
of  this.  At  the  same  time,  let  him  not  alarm  himself 
needlessly  lest  he  be  not  understood.  If  he  preach  in 
plain,  simple,  grammatical  English,  his  audience  will 
understand  the  meaning  of  what  he  says,  since  they 
comprehend  much  more  readily  than  they  speak. 

Popular  pulpit  eloquence  will  be  grave,  and,  although 
this  may  perhaps  sound  like  a  contradiction  in  terms, 
it  will  be  lively  and  full  of  interest.     There  are  some 

things  which  a  priest  can  never,  in  any  circumstances, 

19 


274"  EXTEMPOKARY  PREACHING. 

afford  to  forget;   and  foremost  amongst  them  is  the 
gravity  of  the  sacerdotal  character.     We  have  already 
said  that  the  priest  can  never  descend  to  become  a  mere 
mob  orator,  any  more  than  he  can  become  a  mere  buf- 
foon.    At  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  he  must  express 
himself  with  that  gravity  of  manner  and  of  speech 
which  alone  become  the  minister  of  God,  the  teacher  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.     And  this  is  a  point  upon  which, 
most  surely,  we  need  not  delay  in  this  place.     But, 
having  premised  this,  let  us  add,  that,  whilst  he  never 
loses  sight  of  the  gravity  and  innate  dignity  of  the 
sacerdotal  character,  he  must,  if  he  is  to  be  a  successful 
speaker,  labour  with  all  his  might  and  main  to  render 
his  discourse  really,  truly,  and  solidly  interesting. 
^     It  is  very  surprising  how  many  zealous,  earnest,  tho- 
roughly  pious   men   fail,    utterly   and   completely,   as 
preachers,  simply  because  they  are  unable  to  infuse  one 
shred  of  human  interest  into  what  they  say.      The 
moment  they  enter  the  pulpit  their  very  nature  seems 
to  have  undergone  a  change ;  and  many  a  man  who,  in 
his  daily  intercourse  with  his  people,  is  frank,  easy,  and 
affectionate,  becomes  cold,  stiff,  and  stilted,  when  he 
begins  to  speak  to  them  in  public.     His  language  is  as 
devoid  of  interest  as  the  tones  of  his  voice  are  of  sym- 
pathy, and  the  souls  of  his  hearers,  instead  of  dilating 
under  the  power  of  his  words,  instead  of  expanding 


STYLE   OF   THE   PULPIT.  275 

to  the  vivifying  influences  of  the  life  and  the  grace 
that  should  have  come  to  them  through  the  ministry 
of  his  tongue,  shrivel  and  contract  under  the  withering 
spell  of  a  voice  that  is  without  music  or  warmth,  and 
of  a  speech  that  is  without  animation,  interest,  or  life. 
It  is  all  very  well  to  say  that  the  people  ought  to  be 
content  with  plain,   solid  instruction.     So  they  ought. 
But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  are  not.     If  we  would 
benefit  the  people,  practically  and  in  earnest,  we  must 
begin  by  taking  them  as  they  are,  and  not  as  they 
ought  to  be;  whereas,  as  a  rule,  we  do  the  very  con- 
trary.    We  give  them  credit  for  qualities  which  they 
do  not  possess ;  we  commence  by  assuming  that  they 
are  everything  which  they  are  not ;  and,  in  consequence, 
we  never  succeed  in  making  them  what  they  ought  to 
be,  simply  because  we  never  realize  what  they  are.     It 
may  be  very  unreasonable  in  our  people  to  require  us 
to  render  our  discourses  interesting,  but  most  undoubt- 
edly they  do  require  it,  as  one  of  the  essential  condi- 
tions on  which  they  will  consent  to  bestow  their  atten- 
tion upon  us ;  and  hence,  unless  we  know  how  to  do 
this,  we  may  give  up  all  hope  of  being  of  any  real  ser- 
vice to  them.     The  successful  orator  is  a  man  who  is 
quick  to  perceive  this — a  man  who  knows  how  to  mea- 
sure the  need,  and  to  apply  the  remedy.     Heie  the 
power  of  word-painting  has  fuU  play.     Here  the  skilful 


276  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 


/ 


preacher  avails  himself  of  all  the  resources  which  nature 
and  art  place  at  his  disposal  to  aid  him  in  amusing, 
pleasing,  and  interesting  his  hearers.  He  constantly 
varies  his  forms  of  expression,  and  the  words  which  he 
employs.  He  illustrates  by  examples,  he  explains  by 
comparisons,  he  gives  human  interest  and  sympathy  to 
his  speech  by  the  judicious  employment  of  parables. 
He  remembers  that  his  Divine  Lord  and  Master  was 
nevsr  weary  of  teaching  by  parable,  and  of  illustrating 
by  example,  and  he  aims  at  no  higher  model.  He 
speaks  to  his  people  in  this,  the  language  of  nature, 
and  he  is  rewarded  by  the  sparkling  eye,  the  eager  face, 
the  upturned  head,  which  tell  of  an  attentive,  because 
an  interested,  audience.  He  puts  matters  before  them 
in  a  homely  form  and  shape,  and  in  a  shape  wbich  they 
can  recognise  as  something  familiar  and  well-known. 
It  is  Fenelon  who  remarks  that,  since  the  fall,  man  is 
absorbed  in  sensible*  and  material  things — he  cannot 
follow  abstract  ideas,  he  cannot  realise  abstract  concep- 
tions, he  cannot  separate,  at  least  for  long,  mind  and 
matter.  Here  is  another  of  his  evils.  But  we  must 
take  him  as  he  is,  and  do  our  best  to  bring  truth  home 

*  The  word  "sensible  "  is  employed  here  in  its  scholastic 
and  theological  meaning,  I  do  not  know  any  English  word 
which  expresses  the  idea  to  be  conveyed  so  closely  and 
precisely. — T.  J.  P. 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT.  277 

to  his  understanding,  by  clothing  it  in  suitable  terras, 
in  language  which  he  comprehends,  and  which  pos- 
sesses an  interest  for  him.  The  popular  orator  does 
this.  He  has  taken  the  Sacred  Scriptures  as  his  guide, 
and  in  them  he  has  learned  how  to  give  form  and 
colour,  human  if  you  will,  to  his  conceptions  and  his 
thoughts ;  and  there,  too,  he  has  learned  how  to  com- 
bine simplicity  with  purity,  gravity  with  warmth,  and 
interest  with  dignity,  of  speech.  Although  his  style 
may  be  simple  and  grave,  it  is  not  therefore  monoto- 
nous or  dull.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  full  of  light  and 
colour.  That  colour  may  not  be  of  the  brightest  and 
the  most  gaudy  hue,  a  crimson  or  a  royal  purple,  but  it 
will  be  no  less  striking  aod  real  on  that  account — for 
the  colours  which  nature  seems  to  love  the  best  are 
those  more  modest  tints,  the  perfection  of  whose  beauty 
is  found,  not  in  violence  of  contrast,  but  in  due  sub- 
ordination of  shade  to  shade,  and  of  leaf  to  leaf,  in  the 
perfect  blending  of  the  varied  painted  parts,  to  form  the 
one  matchless  whole.  To  such  speech  as  this — simple, 
gracious,  pictuiesque,  full  of  interest  and  animation, 
but  never  turgid,  never  bombastic,  never  scattering  as 
flowers  what  turn  out  to  be  weeds,  never  seeking  to 
feed  hungry  men  with  the  froth  of  empty  declamation 
and  of  soulless  words — the  people  dearly  love  to  listen, 
so  long  as  the  speaker  keeps  himself  within  the  range 


278  EXTEMPORAET  PREACHING. 

of  their  capacity,  and  applies  himself  to  their  wants 
and  their  woes,  to  their  griefs  and  their  cares. 

But,  above  and  before  all  things  else,  popular  speech 
must  be  characterised  by  thorough  earnestness — by  ear- 
nestness of  thought,  by  earnestness  of  composition,  by 
earnestness  of  delivery ;  by  that  earnestness  which  is 
at  once  the  witness  and  the  exponent  of  strong  convic- 
tions and  of  ardent  feelings.     The  sacred  orator  who  is 
not  in  earnest  is  nothing.     If  he  be  not  in  earnest,  if 
he  be  not  all  ablaze  with  the  sacred  fire,  if  his  own  soul 
do  not  thrill  under  the  sacred  influences  which  he  un- 
dertakes to  urge  upon  others,  he  must  necessarily  be 
nothing.     As  an  accomplished  writer*  has  said  so  well, 
nothing  can  supply,  even  for  elocutionary  purposes,  the 
want  of  a  living  faith,  and  a  personal  interest  in  the 
solemn  and  glorious  truth  we  have  to  declare,  or  the 
want  of  a  deep  and  heart-piercing  conviction  that  the 
salvation  of  those  to  whom  we  speak  depends  upon 
their  believing  it. 

Yes — the  popular  preacher  must  be  thoroughly  in 
earnest.  It  is  one  of  the  conditions  of  success  which 
nature  herself  has  laid  down ;  and  he  must  be  content 
to  abide  by  the  general  law.     If  he  be  incapable,  not 

^  "Elocution:  the  sources  and  elements  of  its  power." 
By  J.  H.  M'llvaine.  New  York :  Charles  Scribner  and 
Company.     1871. 


STYLE  OF   THE  PULPIT.  279 

only  of  appreciating,  but  of  feeling,  the  true,  the  beau- 
tiful, and  the  sublime  ;  if  he  have  no  interest — we  only 
put  a  hypothetical  case,  for  such  an  assertion  could 
surely  never  be  true  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ — if  he  have  no  interest  in  the  truth  he  preaches ; 
if  his  heart  never  grow  hot  within  his  breast  as  he  pon- 
ders over  the  Master's  words  which  he  has  been 
appointed  to  proclaim  to  a  soul -starved,  to  a  hungry 
and  an  eager  people ;  if  it  be  all  the  same  to  him 
w^h ether  he  have  to  speak  of  the  terrors  of  the  Dread- 
ful Day  to  come,  of  the  mercy  of  his  God,  or  of  the 
most  simple  and  fundamental  of  the  Christian  truths; 
if  his  soul  warm  no  more  under  the  influence  of  the 
one  than  when  he  merely  explains  the  other ;  in  a  word, 
if  no  sentiment,  no  matter  how  sublime — i^  no  position 
of  affairs,  no  matter  how  momentous — if  no  need,  no 
matter  how  urgent  and  pressing,  of  his  neighbour's 
panting,  struggling,  well-nigh  shipwrecked,  soul — if 
none  of  these,  or  of  a  thousand  kindred  motives  which 
press  from  time  to  time  upon  his  notice,  be  potent 
enough  to  disturb  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  to  rouse 
him  to  a  momentary  enthusiasm  and  warmth — it  is,  no 
doubt,  a  matter  to  be  deplored,  but  it  is  one  for  which 
we  have  no  remedy  to  prescribe.  It  becomes  a  very 
plain  and  simple  matter  of  fact — the  conditions  of  suc- 
cess are  not  present,  the  foundation  of  anything  in  the 


280  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

shape  of  oratorical  excellence  is  wanting,  and,  so  far  as 
we  are  concerned,  there  would  seem  to  be  an  end  of 
the  matter. 

But,  in  all  sad,  sober  earnestness,  why  should  such 
things  be  ?  Considering  the  dignity  of  the  office  we 
discharge  and  the  momentous  interests  which  are  at 
stake,  why  are  we  not  in  earnest  when  we  speak  from 
the  pulpit  ?  Or,  to  state  the  case  more  truly,  why  can- 
not we  make  men  perceive  that  we  are  in  earnest — as, 
no  doubt,  the  great  majority  of  Christian  preachers 
really  are,  although  you  could  never  gather  it  from 
their  accent,  the  nature  of  their  language,  or  the 
manner  of  their  delivery.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  be 
ourselves  persuaded  of  the  authority  we  possess,  of  the 
power  which  we  wield  in  the  Divine  Word.  The  Abb^ 
Mullois,  who  says  all  things  w^ell,  says  most  truly,  that 
we  must  make  our  hearers  feel  that  we  are  so  endowed. 
They  must  feel,  while  listening  to  us,  that,  verily  and 
indeed,  we  speak  in  God's  name ;  that  we  have  not 
come  before  them  to  tickle  their  ears  with  empty 
words,  or  to  amuse  them  w^ith  the  far-fetched  specula- 
tions with  which  we  have  amused  our  own  leisure 
hours  in  the  silence  of  our  study ;  but  that  we  have 
come  to  proclaim  to  them  those  same  solemn  and  mo- 
mentous truths  before  which  we  ourselves,  first  of  all, 
have  humbled  ourselves  to  the  very  dust:  those  self- 


STYLE  OF  THE  PULPIT.  281 

same  truths,  the  contemplation  of  which  has  filled  our 
own  souls  with  deepest  reverence  and  profoundest 
dread. 

See,  how  earnestly  men  of  the  world  speak  when  they 
are  engaged  in  discussing  any  matter  in  which  they 
take  a  lively  interest !  Listen  to  the  debates  in  their 
parliaments,  their  corporations,  and  their  social  gather- 
ings. Nay,  how  warm  we  grow  ourselves,  from  time  to 
time,  in  discussing  matters  which,  perhaps,  are  of  no 
importance,  which  have  no  reference  to  God  or  our 
neighbour's  soul!  We  have  more  than  enough  of 
energy  and  animation  then ;  it  is  for  the  pulpit  that  we 
keep  our  coldness  and  reserve. 

Surely  we,  we  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  are  not  less  in 
earnest  than  the  men  of  the  world.  Why,  then,  do  we 
not  speak  out  as  they  do  ?  We  cannot  deny  them  that 
justice.  What  they  think,  they  say;  and  what  they 
say,  they  say  as  if  they  believed  it.  They  speak  with 
the  accent  of  conviction,  and,  speaking  thus,  they  speak 
with  a  power  that  is  irresistible.  It  is  not  enough  for 
us  to  believe.  We  must  make  known  the  truth  which 
we  hold,  we  must  declare  the  Faith  which  is  in  us. 
But  it  is  not  enough  to  do  this  in  aoy  kind  of  a  way. 
We  must  proclaim  it  as  if  we  believed  it;  we  must 
proclaim  it  as  if  we  gloried  in  it;  as  if  the  one  object, 
nearest  and  dearest  to  our  very  heart  of  hearts,  were  to 


282  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

make  it  known  to  all  the  world,  to  bring  it  home  to 
every  soul  that  has  been  redeemed  by  the  Saviour's  pre- 
cious blood.  What  comparison  can  there  ever  be  be- 
tween those  trivial  matters  about  which  men  of  the 
world  become  so  wonderfully  earnest,  and  those  tremen- 
dous interests  which  have  been  committed  to  our  keep- 
ing ?  None — surely  none.  When,  therefore,  duty  calls 
us  to  speak  of  these  things,  we  must  do  it  as  men  who 
are  thoroughly  in  earnest — we  must  speak  with  those 
accents  of  conviction  which  thrill  an  earnest  man  to  his 
very  finger's  ends  ;  and  if  we  speak  thus,  we  shall  speak 
with  complete  and  unequivocal  success.  It  has  been 
well  said  of  such  a  speaker  that  he  astounds,  stag- 
gers, and  overcomes  the  gainsayers.  And  it  is  true. 
We  have  all  seen  it,  at  least  now  and  again.  We  have 
all  witnessed,  at  least  sometimes  in  our  lives,  the  won- 
derful results  that  have  been  produced  by  an  earnest 
man  speaking  in  the  language  and  accent  of  conviction. 
A  few  words  uttered  in  this  manner  often  produce 
more  effect  than  the  laboured  sermons  of  other  men; 
since  this  is  the  very  thing  we  want,  the  very  quality 
for  which,  perhaps  without  clearly  knowing  what  it  is 
we  miss  in  them,  we  pine  so  ardently  in  our  preachers. 
We  have  no  lack  of  eloquence,  as  things  go ;  close  rea- 
soners  and  clever  controversialists  are  not  wanting  to 
our  pulpits ;  but  when,  once  in  an  age,  a  thoroughly 


STYLE   OF   THE   PULPIT.  283 

earnest  man  appears — a  man  not  only  earnest  in  heart 
and  soul,  but  in  word  and  in  tongue — a  man  who  is  not 
afraid  to  speak  out  the  truth  that  is  in  him — to  speak 
it  as  he  feels  it,  without  fear  of  persons,  without  favour 
or  disguise — he  is  the  man  to  carry  all  before  him,  he 
is  the  man  to  speak  victories,  as  Holy  Scripture  puts 
it;  and  this  for  the  simple  reason  that,  speaking  as  he 
does,  with  the  language  of  faith  and  of  love,  his  hearers 
are  as  quick  to  submit  to  one  in  whose  ministry  they 
recognise  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  as  they  are  slow  to 
oppose,  even  in  thought,  the  influence  of  him  who 
seems  to  them  to  speak  with  the  voice  of  that  God 
against  whom  no  man  may  hope  to  prevail. 

Besides,  it  is  one  of  the  special  and  characteristic 
advantages  of  extemporary  preaching,  that  it  is  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  the  display  of  earnestness  and  warmth. 
Mr.  M'llvaine,  in  his  excellent  Treatise  on  Elocution, 
a  work  which  we  cordially  recommend  to  the  notice  of 
the  young  preacher,  thus  writes  on  this  matter : — • 
"When,"  he  says,  "a  thought  comes  fresh  into  the 
mind,  and  chooses,  as  it  were,  at  the  moment,  its  own 
words,  the  meaning  of  these  words  is  more  present  to 
the  mind  of  the  speaker,  and  their  power  is  more  felt, 
than  when  he  recurs  to  them  in  the  memory,  or  upon 
manuscript.  In  the  same  way,  all  the  emotions  in  ex- 
tempore speaking  are  more  fresh  and  genial  than  when 


284  EXTEMPORARY  PREACHING. 

they  are  reproduced  in  the  other  methods.  Hence 
there  is  more  natural  warmth  in  the  declamation,  more 
earnestness  in  the  address,  greater  animation  in  the 
manner,  more  of  the  lighting-up  of  the  soul  in  the 
countenance  and  whole  mien,  more  freedom  and  mean- 
ing in  the  gesture." 

But,  as  the  same  writer  observes,  in  order  to  speak 
with  this  effect,  a  man  must  know  well  beforehand  what 
he  is  going  to  say.  And  to  a  certain  extent  the  speaker 
must  have  foreseen,  not  merely  the  structure,  but  the 
words,  of  any  sentence  which  he  designs  to  be  specially 
emphatic.  Otherwise,  he  will  not  be  able — at  all  events 
not  without  great  practice  in  extemporary  speaking — 
to  deliver  it  with  full  emphasis  and  effect.  "  A  good 
speaker,"  says  Mr,  M'llvaine,  "  always  foresees  his  em- 
phatic words.  As  the  accomplished  rider,  in  order  to 
obtain  a  better  view  of  the  wall  or  ditch  before  him, 
raises  himself  in  his  stirrups,  then  settles  himself  again 
in  his  saddle,  reins  in  his  horse,  gathers  the  animal's 
hind  legs  well  under  his  body,  and  at  the  precise 
moment  lifts  his  head  with  the  bridle,  applies  the 
whip  or  spur,  and  launches  himself  over  the  obstacle, 
amidst  the  cheers  of  his  more  timid  companions — 
so  the  accomplished  speaker  looks  ahead  for  his  em- 
phatic words,  and,  as  he  approaches  them,  draws  in 
his  breath,  and  gathers  up  all  his  forces,  and,  at  the 


STYLE   OF   THE  PULPIT.  285 

precise  moment,  flings  himself  upon  them,  with  all  the 
impulse  gained  from  the  preceding  restraint.  A  single 
word,  spoken  with  such  emphasis,  will  sometimes 
thrill  a  whole  assembly."  There  is  nothing,  almost, 
which  an  earnest  man  cannot  do  with  an  audience,  just 
as  there  is  no  quality,  or  any  combination  of  qualities, 
which  can  compensate  for  the  want  of  earnestness  in  a 
speaker. 

Yes !  whilst  he  labours  to  render  his  discourse  clear 
and  simple,  full  of  interest,  of  sympathy,  and  of  digni- 
fied attractiveness,  only  let  the  young  preacher  be 
thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  all  will  be  well  with  him. 
Then,  realizing  to  the  full,  the  dignity  of  his  position 
as  minister  and  ambassador  of  Christ ;  appreciating,  at 
its  true  value,  the  gravity  and  momentous  nature  of  the 
interests  which  have  been  committed  to  his  keeping : 
he  will  rise,  heart  and  soul,  with  every  instinct  and 
with  every  impulse,  to  the  great  work  which  it  has 
pleased  the  Master  to  give  him  to  do.  Then,  like 
another  Paul,  will  he  make  known  the  message  of  the 
Lord,  not  in  the  persuasive  words  of  human  wisdom, 
but  in  the  showing  of  the  spirit  and  power.  Then, 
labouring  with  much  prayer  and  with  many  tears,  it 
will  matter  but  little  to  him  what  judgment  may  be 
passed  upon  him  by  men,  provided  he  be  found  faithful 
by  Him  who  is  to  bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of 


286  EXTEMPORAE-r   PREACHING. 

darkness,  who  is  to  make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the 
heart.     Then,  becoming  all  things  to  all  men,  that  thus 
he  may  win  all  to  Christ,  in  the  fulness  of  his  love,  in 
the  ardour  of  his  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  his  brethren, 
he  will  be  ready  to  become  anathema  for  the  souls  for 
which  his  Master  died.     Then,  going  forth  at  the  sound 
of  the  Master's  voice,  will  he  scatter  the  good  seed  that 
is  to  bring  forth  its  fruit  in  due  season,  a  fruit  that  shall 
surely  remain  long  after  he  himself  shall  have  been 
laid  to  his  rest.     Then,  strong   and  invincible  in  the 
power  of  God's  word,  shall  his  sound  go  forth   into  all 
the  earth,  and  his  words  into  the  ends  of  the  whole 
world  :  then,  shall  his  feet  be  beautiful  upon  the  moun- 
tains, beautiful  as  the  feet  of  them  that  preach   the 
gospel  of  peace,  of  them  that  bring  glad  tidings  of  good 
things.      Then,  verily  and   indeed,   shall   his   mission 
amongst  men   be    crowned    with   honour,  for  it  shall 
be  a  mission  of  mercy,  of  benediction,  and  of  love. 
Then,  shall  all  men,  knowing  him  for  a  man  of  God, 
and  a  minister  of  Christ,  receive  the  teaching  of  his  lips 
with  humble  and  with  docile  hearts.     Then,  shall  that 
teaching  be  blessed  a  hundred,  yea,  a  hundred  times  a 
hundred  fold.     And,  then,   when   the  time  shall  have 
come,  and  the  faithful  and  prudent  servant  shall  have 
been  called  to  his  reward  :  through   all  the  priceless 
years  of  his  eternity  shall  he  shine  like  a  star  in  the 

# 


STYLE   OF   THE   PULPIT.  287 

firmament  of  God,  because,  duriug  the  days  of  his  min- 
istry here  below,  he  laboured  with  all  his  heart  and 
soul,  to  the  best  of  the  ability  which  God  had  given 
him,  to  guide  many  faltering  feet  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, to  give  light  to  many  that  sat  in  darkness, 
bearing  to  many  that  were  deaf,  and  speech  to  many 
that  were  dumb ;  because,  in  one  word,  he  fed  many  a 
hungry  and  thirsty  soul  with  the  blessed  food  of  Justice, 
of  Sanctity,  and  of  Truth  :  Qui  ad  justitiami  erudiunt 
Ttiultos,  quasi  stellce  in  perpetuas  a^ternitates,  fulge- 
hunt:  Fiat,  Fiat. 


THE  END. 


2-  a7 


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